We present a theoretical study of the dynamic structure function of a resonantly interacting two-component Fermi gas at zero temperature. Our approach is based on dynamic many-body theory able to describe excitations in strongly correlated Fermi syst
ems. The fixed-node diffusion Monte Carlo method is used to produce the ground-state correlation functions which are used as an input for the excitation theory. Our approach reproduces recent Bragg scattering data in both the density and the spin channel. In the BCS regime, the response is close to that of the ideal Fermi gas. On the BEC side, the Bose peak associated with the formation of dimers dominates the density channel of the dynamic response. When the fraction of dimers is large our theory departs from the experimental data, mainly in the spin channel.
The ground state properties of spin-polarized deuterium (D$downarrow$) at zero temperature are obtained by means of the diffusion Monte Carlo calculations within the fixed-node approximation. Three D$downarrow$ species have been investigated (D$downa
rrow_1$, D$downarrow_2$, D$downarrow_3$), corresponding respectively to one, two and three equally occupied nuclear spin states. Influence of the backflow correlations on the ground state energy of the systems is explored. The equilibrium densities for D$downarrow_2$ and D$downarrow_3$ liquids are obtained and compared with ones obtained in previous approximate prediction. The density and the pressure at which the gas-liquid phase transition occurs at $T$=0 is obtained for D$downarrow_1$.
Molecular para-hydrogen has been proposed theoretically as a possible candidate for superfluidity, but the eventual superfluid transition is hindered by its crystallization. In this work, we study a metastable non crystalline phase of bulk p-H2 by me
ans of the Path Integral Monte Carlo method in order to investigate at which temperature this system can support superfluidity. By choosing accurately the initial configuration and using a non commensurate simulation box, we have been able to frustrate the formation of the crystal in the simulated system and to calculate the temperature dependence of the one-body density matrix and of the superfluid fraction. We observe a transition to a superfluid phase at temperatures around 1 K. The limit of zero temperature is also studied using the diffusion Monte Carlo method. Results for the energy, condensate fraction, and structure of the metastable liquid phase at T=0 are reported and compared with the ones obtained for the stable solid phase.
The changes that vacancies produce in the properties of hcp solid 4He are studied by means of quantum Monte Carlo methods. Our results show that the introduction of vacancies produces significant changes in the behavior of solid 4He, even when the va
cancy concentration is very small. We show that there is an onset temperature where the properties of incommensurate 4He change significantly. Below this temperature, we observe the emergence of off-diagonal long range order and a complete spatial delocalization of the vacancies. This temperature is quite close to the temperature where non-classical rotational inertia has been experimentally observed. Finally, we report results on the influence of vacancies in the elastic properties of hcp 4He at zero temperature.
Using quantum Monte Carlo we have studied the superfluid density of the first layer of $^4$He and H$_2$ adsorbed on graphene and graphite. Our main focus has been on the equilibrium ground state of the system, which corresponds to a registered $sqrt3
times sqrt3$ phase. The perfect solid phase of H$_2$ shows no superfluid signal whereas $^4$He has a finite but small superfluid fraction (0.67%). The introduction of vacancies in the crystal makes the superfluidity increase, showing values as large as 14% in $^4$He without destroying the spatial solid order.
We have studied the possible existence of a supersolid phase of a two-dimensional dipolar crystal using quantum Monte Carlo methods at zero temperature. Our results show that the commensurate solid is not a supersolid in the thermodynamic limit. The
presence of vacancies or interstitials turns the solid into a supersolid phase even when a tiny fraction of them are present in a macroscopic system. The effective interaction between vacancies is repulsive making a quasiequilibrium dipolar supersolid possible.
This work expands recent investigations in the field of spin-polarized tritium (T$downarrow$) clusters . We report the results for the ground state energy and structural properties of large T$downarrow$ cl usters consisting of up to 320 atoms. All ca
lculations have been performed with variational and diffusi on Monte Carlo methods, using an accurate {it ab initio} interatomic potential. Our results for $N le q 40$ are in good agreement with results obtained by other groups. Using a liquid-drop expression for t he energy per particle, we estimate the liquid equilibrium density, which is in good agreement with our recently obtained results for bulk T$downarrow$. In addition, the calculations of the energy for larg e clusters have allowed for an estimation of the surface tension. From the mean-square radius of the dr op, determined using unbiased estimators, we determine the dependence of the radii on the size of the c luster and extract the unit radius of the T$downarrow$ liquid.
The ground-state properties of spin-polarized tritium T$downarrow$ at zero temperature are obtained by means of diffusion Monte Carlo calculations. Using an accurate {em ab initio} T$downarrow$-T$downarrow$ interatomic potential we have studied its l
iquid phase, from the spinodal point until densities above its freezing point. The equilibrium density of the liquid is significantly higher and the equilibrium energy of $-3.664(6)$ K significantly lower than in previous approximate descriptions. The solid phase has also been studied for three lattices up to high pressures, and we find that hcp lattice is slightly preferred. The liquid-solid phase transition has been determined using the double-tangent Maxwell construction; at zero temperature, bulk tritium freezes at a pressure of $P=9(1)$ bar.
The feasibility of path integral Monte Carlo ground state calculations with very few beads using a high-order short-time Greens function expansion is discussed. An explicit expression of the evolution operator which provides dramatic enhancements in
the quality of ground-state wave-functions is examined. The efficiency of the method makes possible to remove the trial wave function and thus obtain completely model-independent results still with a very small number of beads. If a single iteration of the method is used to improve a given model wave function, the result is invariably a shadow-type wave function, whose precise content is provided by the high-order algorithm employed.
High order actions proposed by Chin have been used for the first time in path integral Monte Carlo simulations. Contrarily to the Takahashi-Imada action, which is accurate to fourth order only for the trace, the Chin action is fully fourth order, wit
h the additional advantage that the leading fourth and sixth order error coefficients are finely tunable. By optimizing two free parameters entering in the new action we show that the time step error dependence achieved is best fitted with a sixth order law. The computational effort per bead is increased but the total number of beads is greatly reduced, and the efficiency improvement with respect to the primitive approximation is approximately a factor of ten. The Chin action is tested in a one-dimensional harmonic oscillator, a H$_2$ drop, and bulk liquid $^4$He. In all cases a sixth-order law is obtained with values of the number of beads that compare well with the pair action approximation in the stringent test of superfluid $^4$He.
