Simon Groth

Ab Initio Thermodynamic Results for the Degenerate Electron Gas at Finite Temperature.

The uniform electron gas at finite temperature is of key relevance for many applications in dense plasmas, warm dense matter, laser excited solids, and much more. Accurate thermodynamic data for the uniform electron gas are an essential ingredient for many-body theories, in particular, density-functional theory. Recently, first-principles restricted path integral Monte Carlo results became available, which, however, had to be restricted to moderate degeneracy, i.e., low to moderate densities with r_{s}=r[over ¯]/a_{B}≳1. Here we present novel first-principles configuration path integral Monte Carlo results for electrons for r_{s}≤4. We also present quantum statistical data within the e^{4} approximation that are in good agreement with the simulations at small to moderate r_{s}.

Permutation blocking path integral Monte Carlo: a highly efficient approach to the simulation of strongly degenerate non-ideal fermions

Correlated fermions are of high interest in condensed matter (Fermi liquids, Wigner molecules), cold atomic gases and dense plasmas. Here we propose a novel approach to path integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) simulations of strongly degenerate non-ideal fermions at finite temperature by combining a fourth-order factorization of the density matrix with antisymmetric propagators, i.e., determinants, between all imaginary time slices. To efficiently run through the modified configuration space, we introduce a modification of the widely used continuous space worm algorithm, which allows for an efficient sampling at arbitrary system parameters. We demonstrate how the application of determinants achieves an effective blocking of permutations with opposite signs, leading to a significant relieve of the fermion sign problem. To benchmark the capability of our method regarding the simulation of degenerate fermions, we consider multiple electrons in a quantum dot and compare our results with other ab initio techniques, where they are available. The present permutation blocking path integral Monte Carlo approach allows us to obtain accurate results even for

Permutation blocking path integral Monte Carlo approach to the uniform electron gas at finite temperature

N=20

Ab initioquantum Monte Carlo simulations of the uniform electron gas without fixed nodes

electrons at low temperature and arbitrary coupling, where no other ab initio results have been reported, so far.

Towards ab Initio Thermodynamics of the Electron Gas at Strong Degeneracy

The uniform electron gas (UEG) at finite temperature is of high current interest due to its key relevance for many applications including dense plasmas and laser excited solids. In particular, density functional theory heavily relies on accurate thermodynamic data for the UEG. Until recently, the only existing first-principle results had been obtained for N = 33 electrons with restricted path integral Monte Carlo (RPIMC), for low to moderate density, rs=r¯/aB≳1. These data have been complemented by configuration path integral Monte Carlo (CPIMC) simulations for rs ≤ 1 that substantially deviate from RPIMC towards smaller rs and low temperature. In this work, we present results from an independent third method-the recently developed permutation blocking path integral Monte Carlo (PB-PIMC) approach [T. Dornheim et al., New J. Phys. 17, 073017 (2015)] which we extend to the UEG. Interestingly, PB-PIMC allows us to perform simulations over the entire density range down to half the Fermi temperature (θ = kBT/EF = 0.5) and, therefore, to compare our results to both aforementioned methods. While we find excellent agreement with CPIMC, where results are available, we observe deviations from RPIMC that are beyond the statistical errors and increase with density.

Ab initio quantum Monte Carlo simulations of the uniform electron gas without fixed nodes: The unpolarized case

The uniform electron gas (UEG) at finite temperature is of key relevance for many applications in the warm dense matter regime, e.g. dense plasmas and laser excited solids. Also, the quality of density functional theory calculations crucially relies on the availability of accurate data for the exchange-correlation energy. Recently, new benchmark results for the N = 33 spin-polarized electrons at high density, r_s = r/a_B <= 4 and low temperature, have been obtained with the configuration path integral Monte Carlo (CPIMC) method [T. Schoof et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 130402 (2015)]. To achieve these results, the original CPIMC algorithm [T. Schoof et al., Contrib. Plasma Phys. 51, 687 (2011)] had to be further optimized to cope with the fermion sign problem (FSP). It is the purpose of this paper to give detailed information on the manifestation of the FSP in CPIMC simulations of the UEG and to demonstrate how it can be turned into a controllable convergence problem. In addition, we present new thermodynamic results for higher temperatures. Finally, to overcome the limitations of CPIMC towards strong coupling, we invoke an independent method|the recently developed permutation blocking path integral Monte Carlo approach [T. Dornheim et al., accepted for publication in J. Chem Phys., arXiv:1508.03221]. The combination of both approaches is able to yield ab initio data for the UEG over the entire density range, above a temperature of about one half of the Fermi temperature. Comparison with restricted path integral Monte Carlo data [E. W. Brown et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 146405 (2013)] allows us to quantify the systematic error arising from the free particle nodes.

Free energy of the uniform electron gas: Testing analytical models against first-principles results†

Recently a number of theoretical studies of the uniform electron gas (UEG) at finite temperature have appeared that are of relevance for dense plasmas, warm dense matter and laser excited solids and thermodynamic density functional theory simulations. In particular, restricted path integral Monte Carlo (RPIMC) results became available which, however, due to the Fermion sign problem, are confined to moderate quantum degeneracy, i.e. low to moderate densities. We have recently developed an alternative approach—configuration PIMC [T. Schoof et al., Contrib. Plasma Phys. 51, 687 (2011)] that allows one to study the so far not accessible high degeneracy regime. Here we present the first step towards UEG simulations using CPIMC by studying implementation and performance of the method for the model case of N = 4 particles. We also provide benchmark data for the total energy. Copyright line will be provided by the publisher

Ab initio quantum Monte Carlo simulation of the warm dense electron gas

In a recent publication [S. Groth et al., Phys. Rev. B 93, 085102 (2016)], we have shown that the combination of two complementary quantum Monte Carlo approaches, namely configuration path integral Monte Carlo [T. Schoof et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 130402 (2015)] and permutation blocking path integral Monte Carlo [T. Dornheim et al., New J. Phys. 17, 073017 (2015)], allows for the accurate computation of thermodynamic properties of the spin-polarized uniform electron gas over a wide range of temperatures and densities without the fixed-node approximation. In the present work, we extend this concept to the unpolarized case, which requires nontrivial enhancements that we describe in detail. We compare our simulation results with recent restricted path integral Monte Carlo data [E. W. Brown et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 146405 (2013)] for different energy contributions and pair distribution functions and find, for the exchange correlation energy, overall better agreement than for the spin-polarized case, while the separate kinetic and potential contributions substantially deviate.

Configuration path integral Monte Carlo approach to the static density response of the warm dense electron gas

The uniform electron gas is a key model system in the description of matter, including dense plasmas and solid-state systems. However, the simultaneous occurrence of quantum, correlation, and thermal effects makes the theoretical description challenging. For these reasons, over the last half century, many analytical approaches have been developed, the accuracy of which has remained unclear. We have recently obtained the first ab initio data for the exchange correlation free energy of the uniform electron gas, which now provides the opportunity to assess the quality of the mentioned approaches and parameterizations. Particular emphasis is placed on the warm, dense matter regime, where we find significant discrepancies between the different approaches.

Permutation-blocking path-integral Monte Carlo approach to the static density response of the warm dense electron gas

Warm dense matter is one of the most active frontiers in plasma physics due to its relevance for dense astrophysical objects and for novel laboratory experiments in which matter is being strongly compressed, e.g., by high-power lasers. Its description is theoretically very challenging as it contains correlated quantum electrons at finite temperature—a system that cannot be accurately modeled by standard analytical or ground state approaches. Recently, several breakthroughs have been achieved in the field of fermionic quantum Monte Carlo simulations. First, it was shown that exact simulations of a finite model system ( 30…100 electrons) are possible, which avoid any simplifying approximations such as fixed nodes [Schoof et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 130402 (2015)]. Second, a novel way to accurately extrapolate these results to the thermodynamic limit was reported by Dornheim et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 156403 (2016)]. As a result, now thermodynamic results for the warm dense electron gas are available, w...