Large scale MD Simulations of the time-resolved optical properties of warm dense metals

Recent experiments on gold suggest that the electrical and optical properties of metals in the warm dense matter regime can be accessed by performing time-resolved measurements after the illumination of a metallic thin film by a short-pulse laser[1]. The non-equilibrium situation created in this experimental setup poses new challenges to simulation methods as the time evolution of the atomic structure needs to be followed as the metal evolves from a solid to a plasma state. We used a combination of {\sl ab-initio} and large scale molecular dynamics simulations to calculate the evolution of the atomic structure, and the electrical conductivity of various metals during the first pico-seconds after a short-pulse laser illumination. \newline \newline [1] K. Widmann, T. Ao, M.E. Foord, D.F. Price, A.D. Ellis, P.T. Springer,and A. Ng, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 92}, 125002 (2004).