The sign problem and population dynamics in the full configuration interaction quantum Monte Carlo method
Year: 2012
Type: article
Abstract: The recently proposed full configuration interaction quantum Monte Carlo method allows access to essentially exact ground-state energies of systems of interacting fermions substantially larger than previously tractable without knowledge of the nodal structure of the ground-state wave function. We investigate the nature of the sign problem in this method and how its severity depends on the system studied. We explain how cancellation of the positive and negative particles sampling the wave function ensures convergence to a stochastic representation of the many-fermion ground state and accounts for the characteristic population dynamics observed in simulations.
Source: The Journal of Chemical Physics
DOI: 10.1063/1.3681396
Authors: J. S. Spencer, N. S. Blunt, W. M.C. Foulkes
Institution: Imperial College London
Language: English
Topic: Quantum many-body systems
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1998071870