Julie Coxe (MSc Student)

Centre for Theoretical Chemistry and Physics Bldg.44, NZ Institute for Advanced Study Massey University (Albany Campus) Private Bag 102904 North Shore MSC, Auckland New Zealand Phone +64 9 414 0800 ext. 9772 Fax +64 9 443 9779 Email: coxejn@gmail.com

Research interests

Understanding the complexities of the interior of planets and stars requires the help of analyzing the effects of high pressures on certain elements believed to be found within. The Hartree-Fock method uses the Schrödinger equation, Kummer's differential equations and a confinement potential to simulate an atom being squeezed to high pressures. The Hartree-Fock method was used to calculate the total energies of atoms. After being compared to Gaussian03 and VASP, the results were deemed accurate. It was also observed that the pressure versus density data closely approximated those pairs found in outer space in the interiors of, for example, Jupiter.