The Strongly Coupled Electron Liquid: ab initio Path Integral Monte Carlo Simulations and Dielectric Theories

Abstract

The strongly coupled electron liquid provides a unique opportunity to study the complex interplay of strong coupling with quantum degeneracy effects and thermal excitations. To this end, we carry out extensive \textit{ab initio} path integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) simulations to compute the static structure factor, interaction energy, density response function, and the corresponding static local field correction in the range of $20\le r_s\le 100$ and $0.5\le \theta \le 4$. We subsequently compare these data to several dielectric approximations, and find that different schemes are capable to reproduce different features of the PIMC results at certain parameters. Moreover, we provide a comprehensive data table of interaction energies and compare those to two recent parametrizations of the exchange-correlation free energy, where they are available. Finally, we briefly touch upon the possibility of a charge-density wave. The present study is complementary to previous investigations of the uniform electron gas in the warm dense matter regime and, thus, further completes our current picture of this fundamental model system at finite temperature. All PIMC data are available online.

References in corpus (15)

• Computational complexity and fundamental limitations to fermionic quantum Monte Carlo simulations
• Worm Algorithm and Diagrammatic Monte Carlo: A New Approach to Continuous-Space Path Integral Monte Carlo Simulations
• Path Integral Monte Carlo Simulation of the Warm-Dense Homogeneous Electron Gas
• The Finite Size Error in Many-body Simulations with long-Ranged Interactions
• Hydrogen-Helium Mixtures in the Interiors of Giant Planets
• {\em Ab initio} Quantum Monte Carlo simulation of the warm dense electron gas in the thermodynamic limit
• Ab initio equations of state for hydrogen (H-REOS.3) and helium (He-REOS.3) and their implications for the interior of Brown Dwarfs
• Structure, superfluidity, and quantum melting of hydrogen clusters
• Diffusion quantum Monte Carlo study of three-dimensional Wigner crystals
• Ab Initio Path Integral Monte Carlo Approach to the Static and Dynamic Density Response of the Uniform Electron Gas
• Path Integral Monte Carlo Simulation of Degenerate Electrons: Permutation-Cycle Properties
• Configuration Path Integral Monte Carlo Approach to the Static Density Response of the Warm Dense Electron Gas
• Permutation Blocking Path Integral Monte Carlo approach to the Static Density Response of the Warm Dense Electron Gas
• Emergence of an excitonic collective mode in the dilute electron gas
• Unrestricted Hartree-Fock theory of Wigner crystals

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Dynamic properties of the warm dense electron gas: an ab initio path integral Monte Carlo approach