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Present available interior models of giant planets assume that the internal transport of energy is entirely convective and, accordingly, rule out any possibility of radiative transport. New opacity calculations at temperatures and densities occurring within the giant planets, taking into account H2-H2 and H2-He collision-induced absorption as well as infrared and visible absorption due to hydrogen, water, methane and ammonia are presented. These opacities are not high enough to exclude the presence of a. radiative zone in the molecular H2 envelope of Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus.

An improved theory of fluid hydrogen at high density, based on a detailed treatment of inter-particle correlations and a self-consistent treatment of pressure ionization, has become available recently (Chabrier 1990, Saumon and Chabrier 1991, 1992). We present a preliminary comparison between this new EOS (hereatfer SC) and equations of state frequently used in astrophysical contexts, namely: Fontaine, Graboske and Van Horn 1977 (FGVH), Däppen et al. 1988 (MHD) and Magni and Mazzitelli 1979 (MM).The SC theory predicts a first-order phase transition in the region of pressure-ionization (the so-called Plasma Phase Transition, or PPT), between an essentially neutral mixture of atoms and molecules (xe– < 10−2), and a partially ionized plasma (xe– ≈ 50 %), with a critical point located at Pc = 0.614 Mbar, Tc = 15300K and pc = 0.35 g/cm3.

We study equilibrium properties of partially ionized hydrogen atmospheres and subphotospheric layers of weakly (with magnetic fieldB≪ 109G) and strongly (B≫ 1010G) magnetized neutron stars. In both weak- and strong-field cases, the ionization degree, atomic occupation numbers, and equation of state are calculated. These results are used to calculate opacities of neutron-star atmospheres.