Path integral calculations of vacancies in solid Helium

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We study properties of vacancies in solid 4He using Path Integral Monte Carlo. We find, in agreement with other calculations, that the energy to create a single vacancy is 11.5 K and is monotonic with the number of vacancies. If more then a few percent of the system becomes vacant, we find the system becomes unstable to melting. We show the number of exchanges in the system is increased by vacancies and how the underlying lattice is altered by the presence of a vacancy. We also examine the efficacy of using a tight binding Hamiltonian to describe the vacancy in the crystal, show that vacancies are attractive, and find values for the effective mass and inter-vacancy attraction.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)82-88
Number of pages7
JournalComputer Physics Communications
Volume179
Issue number1-3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2008

Keywords

  • Helium
  • Monte Carlo
  • Path integral
  • Quantum solid
  • Supersolid
  • Vacancies

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Computer Science Applications
  • General Physics and Astronomy

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