Reply to "Comment on 'Direct linear term in the equation of state of plasmas' ".

The long-standing discrepancy in the equation of state of charge neutral plasmas, the occurrence of an e(2) direct term in the second virial coefficient, is dealt with. We state that such a contribution should not appear for a pure Coulomb interaction.

Direct linear term in the equation of state of plasmas.

We discuss a long-standing discrepancy in the equation of state of charge-neutral plasmas, the occurrence of an e(2) direct term. This e(2) term may appear in dependence of the way to determine the mean value of the potential energy. We show that such a contribution should not appear for pure Coulomb interaction.

Collisional absorption of dense plasmas in strong laser fields: quantum statistical results and simulation.

Collisional absorption of dense fully ionized plasmas in strong laser fields is investigated using quantum statistical methods as well as molecular dynamics simulations. For high-frequency fields, quantum statistical expressions for the electrical current density and the electron-ion collision frequency are presented. Strong correlations are taken into account and their influence on the absorption rate is discussed.

Monte Carlo results for the hydrogen Hugoniot.

We propose a theoretical Hugoniot relation obtained by combining results for the equation of state from the direct path integral Monte Carlo technique (DPIMC) and those from reaction ensemble Monte Carlo (REMC) simulations. The main idea of this proposal is based on the fact that the DPMIC technique provides first-principle results for a wide range of densities and temperatures including the region of partially ionized plasmas. On the other hand, for lower temperatures where the formation of molecules becomes dominant, DPIMC simulations become cumbersome and inefficient.

Reaction ensemble Monte Carlo technique and hypernetted chain approximation study of dense hydrogen.

In spite of the simple structure of hydrogen, up to now there is no unified theoretical and experimental description of hydrogen at high pressures. Recent results of Z-pinch experiments show a large deviation from those obtained by laser driven ones. Theoretical investigations including ab initio computer simulations show considerable differences at such extreme conditions from each other and from experimental values.