Astrophysical materials science: Theory

A method of structural expansions for use in determining the equation of state of metallic hydrogen (and indeed other metals) up to the 4th order in the perturbation theory was developed. The electrical and thermal transport properties of the planetary interior of Jupiter were calculated. The nature of the interaction between molecules at short range and the importance of multicenter terms in arriving at an adequate description of the thermodynamic functions of condensed molecular hydrogen were also investigated.