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Fully Consistent Density Functional Theory Determination of the Insulator-Metal Transition Boundary in Warm Dense Hydrogen

Using conceptually and procedurally consistent density functional theory (DFT) calculations with an advanced meta-GGA exchange-correlation functional in ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, we determine the insulator-metal transition (IMT) of warm dense fluid hydrogen over the pressure range 50 to 300 GPa. Inclusion of nuclear quantum effects via path-integral molecular dynamics (PIMD) sharpens the metallic transition and lowers the transition temperature relative to results from Born-Oppenheimer (BO) MD. BOMD itself gives improved agreement with experimental results compared to previous DFT predictions. Examination of the ionic pair correlation function in the context of the abrupt conductivity increase at the transition confirms a metallic transition due to the dissociation of molecular hydrogen that coincides with an abrupt band gap closure. Direct comparison of the PIMD and BOMD results clearly demonstrates an isotope effect on the IMT. Distinct from stochastic simulations, these results do not depend upon any ad hoc combination of ground-state and finite-T methodologies.