Theoretical solid and liquid state shock Hugoniots of Al, Ta, Mo and W

We present the Hugoniots of Al, Ta, Mo and W in their solid as well as liquid phases. The liquid phase calculations are carried out on the basis of the corrected rigid spheres (CRIS) model. The 0 K isotherm of the solid phases, which are the necessary inputs for our computations, have been obtained by full potential first principles electronic structure calculations with generalized gradient approximation (GGA) for the exchange–correlation terms. The melting curve as a function of pressure was obtained according to the recently published model based on dislocation mediated melting, and also compared with that using Lindemann criterion. Though the adiabatic pressure–volume curve is affected little by melting, the pressure–temperature curve shows substantial change.