Ab initio study of warm dense argon

Warm dense argon is studied by ab initio methods in the framework of density functional theory. The equation of state in the region of temperatures up to 25000 К and densities up to 12 g/cm3 is calculated. The electrical conductivity is estimated. Qualitatively, the results are similar to the predictions of analytical models: argon smoothly transits to a metal-like state with the increase of pressure (or temperature). Additionally, the non-ideality parameter of the plasma is estimated. No density jumps or sharp increases in the electrical conductivity characteristic of the plasma phase transition are found.