Quantum phase transition with a simple variational ansatz

We study the zero-temperature quantum phase transition between liquid and hop solid super(4)He. We use the variational method with a simple yet exchange-symmetric and fully explicit wave function. It is found that the optimized wave function undergoes spontaneous symmetry breaking and describes the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review. B, Condensed matter and materials physics Condensed matter and materials physics, 2014-12, Vol.90 (21), Article 214512
Main Authors: Lutsyshyn, Y., Astrakharchik, G. E., Cazorla, C., Boronat, J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Broken symmetry
Bulk He-4
Condensed matter
Exchange
Física
Ground state
Heli
Helium
Liquid
Liquids
Monte-Carlo
Phase transformations
Potentials
Shadow wave-function
Solid He-4
Solid helium
Solidification
Supersolidity
Systems
Variational methods
Wave functions
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC
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Summary:We study the zero-temperature quantum phase transition between liquid and hop solid super(4)He. We use the variational method with a simple yet exchange-symmetric and fully explicit wave function. It is found that the optimized wave function undergoes spontaneous symmetry breaking and describes the quantum solidification of helium at 22 atm. The explicit form of the wave function allows us to consider various contributions to the phase transition. We find that the employed wave function is an excellent candidate for describing both a first-order quantum phase transition and the ground state of a Bose solid.
ISSN:1098-0121
1550-235X
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevB.90.214512