Spatial correlations in the electron gas: Path integral Monte Carlo simulation

Journal Article · Sat Jul 15 00:00:00 EDT 2006 · Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063776106070119· OSTI ID:21067670

Shevkunov, S. V. ^[1]

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1. St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University (Russian Federation), E-mail: [e-mail]

Thermally excited states of the three-dimensional electron gas in a neutralizing background are computed by path integral Monte Carlo simulation for values of the Wigner-Seitz radius within the interval 5 < r{sub s} < 15. Coulomb and exchange interactions, permutation symmetry, and spin state are treated explicitly. Variation of electron correlation functions with density and temperature is analyzed. Quantum effects suppress and enhance spatial correlation at low and high densities, respectively. Transition between the electron-gas states characterized by these opposite trends corresponds to a density of approximately 2.5 x 10{sup 21} cm{sup -3}. A transition line between liquid-like and gaslike phases is determined in the temperature-density diagram. Weak anisotropy of many-body correlations in the liquid-like state stimulates excitation of spherically symmetric collective rotational modes. The effective short-range pseudopotential exhibits strong temperature dependence due to exchange effects. For strongly correlated systems, the characteristic screening length deviates from that predicted by the Thomas-Fermi screening model ({approx}{radical}r{sub s}), approaching a linear function of r{sub s}. The effective short-range interaction substantially differs from the Yukawa potential in mean field theory. Coulomb interaction shifts the Fermi level up by an order of magnitude or higher, and this effect becomes stronger with decreasing density.

• OSTI ID: 21067670
• Journal Information: Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics, Vol. 103, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1134/S1063776106070119; Copyright (c) 2006 Nauka/Interperiodica; Article Copyright (c) 2006 Pleiades Publishing, Inc; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1063-7761
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ANISOTROPY
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
ELECTRON CORRELATION
ELECTRON GAS
EXCHANGE INTERACTIONS
EXCITATION
EXCITED STATES
FERMI LEVEL
FUNCTIONS
INTERACTION RANGE
MANY-BODY PROBLEM
MEAN-FIELD THEORY
MONTE CARLO METHOD
PATH INTEGRALS
SPIN
SYMMETRY
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
THOMAS-FERMI MODEL
THREE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
YUKAWA POTENTIAL