The temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficient of liquid alkali metals was studied along a constant-volume line and the liquid-gas coexistence curve. Molecular dynamics simulations were used to calculate the velocity autocorrelation functions from which the self-diffusion coefficients were deduced. Along both lines of transformation, the Arrhenius law did not appear to describe the temperature dependence; whatever the alkali element. The numerical results obtained for various values of density and temperature were in good agreement with experimental data close to the melting point, and could be interpreted in terms of a power law at higher temperatures.

Temperature Dependence of the Diffusion Coefficient in Liquid Alkali Metals. J.F.Wax, R.Albaki, J.L.Bretonnet: Physical Review B, 2002, 65[1], 014301 (9pp)