Effective pair potentials using an ab initio variational approach

We used a variational approach adapted to a quantum molecular-dynamics code to determine the best reference potential for warm dense aluminum. This ab initio variational approach was based on the Gibbs-Bogolyubov inequality. We used many-body reference systems interacting through inverse-power-law potentials, among which the Coulomb potential was a particular case defining the classical one-component plasma model. By comparisons with full quantum molecular-dynamics simulations, we found that the Coulomb potential was not always the best reference potential. We calculated the self-diffusion coefficient and the shear viscosity and discussed the results obtained using the Chisolm-Wallace relation in the warm dense matter regime.