Strong correlations between electrons and ions in hydrogen plasmas near metal-insulator boundaries are analyzed through an integral equation approach, which adopts the hypernetted-chain (HNC) approximation for the classical ion-ion correlation and the modified convolution approximation (MCA) for the quantum-mechanical electron-electron and electron-ion correlations. The resulting HNC MCA equations are solved self-consistently. The correlation functions and the equation of state thus calculated reveal the emergence of ‘‘Rydberg states’’ in the metallic phase near the metal-insulator boundaries, which acts to reduce the electric and thermal conductivities. Parametrized formulas for the equation of state and the conductivities are presented.

• Received 27 December 1989

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.41.5616