A conductivity model for hydrogen based on <i>ab initio</i> simulations

We calculate the electrical and thermal conductivity of hydrogen for a wide range of densities and temperatures by using molecular dynamics simulations informed by density functional theory. On the basis of the corresponding extended ab initio data set, we construct interpolation formulas covering the range from low-density, high-temperature to high-density, low-temperature plasmas. Our conductivity model reproduces the well-known limits of the Spitzer and Ziman theory. We compare with available experimental data and find very good agreement. The new conductivity model can be applied, for example, in dynamo simulations for magnetic field generation in gas giant planets, brown dwarfs, and stellar envelopes.