Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
Studies of the structure and evolution of low mass stars, brown dwarfs and giant planets require an equation of state (EOS) that includes a detailed, accurate model of the strongly non-ideal behavior of matter in these cool, compact objects [Fig. (1)]. Physical processes in the outer layers of white dwarfs, especially the analysis of the pulsation properties of ZZ Ceti stars, depend sometimes critically on the thermal properties of partially ionized hydrogen. In view of the substantial developments in the statistical physics of dense fluids and plasmas over the past decade, the computation of a new, independent EOS for astrophysical applications is justified. The statistical mechanical models which we present for hydrogen can be adapted to treat both pure helium and hydrogen-helium mixtures.