Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: The three-dimensional electron gas is a fundamental model in condensed matter physics and quantum chemistry, and the exchange-correlation energy derived from it serves as the starting point of \textit{ab initio} computations of materials. However, the wave-vector-dependent response, and hence the static local field factor $G(q)$, has remained without accurate ground-state benchmark in the strongly coupled regime for three decades. Using diffusion Monte Carlo, we calculate the static density-density response function and $G(q)$ across the liquid phase and find a pronounced structure in $G(q)$ at intermediate wave vectors, already visible at metallic densities and growing with increasing interaction strength. We identify it as a fingerprint of short-range order by showing that it is required to reproduce the static structure factor. Our parametrization, valid in the entire liquid phase, predicts a low-energy resonant mode inside the particle-hole continuum.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Institutions: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, Institut Rayonnement-Matière de Saclay, European Theoretical Spectroscopy Facility, Hofstra University, Flatiron Institute, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G1453181110, Track 4: Advanced CI Coordination Ecosystem: Monitoring and Measurement Services, G2154383771, G2848635288, G3406661761, G3562386289, Track 1: ACCESS Resource Allocations Marketplace and Platform Services (RAMPS), G4010157413, ACO: An Open CI Ecosystem to Advance Scientific Discovery (OpenCI), Category I: Crossing the Divide Between Today's Practice and Tomorrow's Science, Track 3: COre National Ecosystem for CyberinfrasTructure (CONECT), G5212984984, G5367127336, G5464919783, G6121277264, LEAPS-MPS: Correlated Methods for Correlated Phases, G6709186444, G6754955425, G6965887028, G8174472116, Track 2: Customized Multi-tier Assistance, Training, and Computational Help (MATCH) for End User ACCESS to CI, G8562358136, G8617358649, G8851268641
OpenAlex ID: W7212166993