Quantum Monte Carlo Studies of the Two-Dimensional Homogeneous Electron Gas
Neil Drummond
We have used quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) methods to study the zero-temperature phase diagram of the two-dimensional homogeneous electron gas. We find a transition from a paramagnetic Fermi fluid to an antiferromagnetic triangular Wigner crystal at density parameter r_s=30(1) a.u. Our results show that a fully spin-polarised fluid is never stable, in contradiction with the conclusions of earlier studies. We have also searched for a recently proposed hybrid fluid-crystal phase, but have not found it. Finally, we report calculations of other important properties of the 2D electron gas, such as the quasiparticle effective mass and contact pair-correlation function.
