Dense plasma opacity from excited states method.

The self-consistent inclusion of plasma effects in opacity calculations is a significant modeling challenge. As density increases, such effects can no longer be treated perturbatively. Building on a a recently published model that addresses this challenge, we calculate opacities of oxygen at solar interior conditions.

Predicting excitation energies in warm and hot dense matter.

In a dense plasma environment, the energy levels of an ion shift relative to the isolated ion values. This shift is reflected in the optical spectrum of the plasma and can be measured in, for example, emission experiments. In this work we use a recently developed method of modeling electronic states in warm dense matter to predict these level energies.

Sensitivity of magnetohydrodynamic simulations of Joule-heated conductors to the vaporization curve in equations of state.

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of electrically exploded aluminum and copper rods demonstrate a technique to validate equations of state (EOS) for rapidly Joule-heated conductors. The balance of internal and magnetic forces at the conductor-insulator interface drives the metal there along the vaporization phase boundary. Variations between critical points and vaporization curves in existing models predict differing densities and temperatures in MHD simulations for these models.

Trial by YouTube: effects of expert psychiatric witness testimony on viewers' opinions of Amber Heard and Johnny Depp.

Aims And Method: We aimed to assess whether viewing expert witness evidence regarding the mental health of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in the 2022 court case in the USA would affect viewers' attitudes towards the mental health of the two protagonists and towards mental illness in general. After viewing excerpts of the cross-examination evidence, 38 trial-naive undergraduate students completed the Prejudice towards People with a Mental Illness (PPMI) scale.

Results: Following viewing, participants held more stigmatising views of the protagonists than they held about mental disorders in general.

Excited states in warm and hot dense matter.

Accurate modeling of warm and hot dense matter is challenging in part due to the multitude of excited states that must be considered. Here, we present a variational framework that models these excited states. In this framework an excited state is defined by a set of effective one-electron occupation factors, and the corresponding energy is defined by the effective one-body energy with an exchange and correlation term.