  The calculation of the optical properties of hot dense plasmas with a model
that has self-consistent plasma physics is a grand challenge for high energy
density science. Here we exploit a recently developed electronic structure
model that uses multiple scattering theory to solve the Kohn-Sham density
functional theory equations for dense plasmas. We calculate opacities in this
regime, validate the method, and apply it to recent experimental measurements
of opacity for Cr, Ni, and Fe. Good agreement is found in the quasicontinuum
region for Cr and Ni, while the self-consistent plasma physics of the approach
cannot explain the observed difference between models and the experiment for
Fe.
