Ab initio determination of electrical and thermal conductivity of liquid aluminum

We present here a technique to compute electronic thermal conductivity of fluids using quantum-molecular dynamics and the formulation of Chester-Tellung for the Kubo-Greenwood formula. In order to validate our implementation, the electrical and thermal conductivities of liquid aluminum were determined from $70\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$ above the melting point up to $10\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}000\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$. Results agree well with experimental data for Al at $1000\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$. The Lorentz number, defined as $K∕\ensuremath{\sigma}T$, where $K$ is the thermal conductivity, $\ensuremath{\sigma}$ is the electrical conductivity, and $T$ is the temperature, is close to the ideal value of $2.44\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}8}$ for metals, and the Wiedemann-Franz law is verified.

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