Speaker
Description
The properties of strongly interacting Fermi systems are influenced by
the formation of bound states. The mass-action law applies in the low
density range. At a fixed temperature, a Fermi liquid consisting of
quasiparticles is obtained at high density. A phase transition can occur
in between. Analytical approaches such as the Matsubara-Green function
method are based on perturbation theory and only provide accurate
results in some limiting cases, e.g. in the case of virial expansions.
The Beth-Uhlenbeck equation for the second virial coefficient is
discussed and generalisations, for instance the cluster-Beth-Uhlenbeck
equation, are considered. Numerical approaches such as density
functional theory or path-integral Monte Carlo simulations provide
results for strongly interacting systems that go beyond perturbation
theory. Examples are strongly coupled Coulomb systems, especially warm
dense matter, and nuclear systems, especially in nuclear reactions and
in astrophysics. We discuss the thermodynamic properties of the
homogeneous electron gas and transport processes in hydrogen plasmas.
For nuclear matter, the composition, the Pauli blocking effect,
properties of nuclei and applications in astrophysics are discussed.
