Zero Temperature Phases of the Electron Gas

G. Ortiz; M. Harris; P. Ballone

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.82.5317

Zero Temperature Phases of the Electron Gas

G. Ortiz, M. Harris, and P. Ballone

Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 5317 – Published 28 June 1999

Abstract

The stability of different phases of the three-dimensional nonrelativistic electron gas is analyzed using stochastic methods. With decreasing density, we observe a continuous transition from the paramagnetic to the ferromagnetic fluid, with an intermediate stability range ( $20 \pm 5 \leq r_{s} \leq 40 \pm 5$ ) for the partially spin-polarized liquid. The freezing transition into a ferromagnetic Wigner crystal occurs at $r_{s} = 65 \pm 10$ . We discuss the relative stability of different magnetic structures in the solid phase.

Received 16 September 1998

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.82.5317

Authors & Affiliations

G. Ortiz¹, M. Harris², and P. Ballone^3,4

¹Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1663, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545
²Max-Planck Institut für Festkörperforschung, Heisenbergstrasse 1, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
³Institut für Festkörperforschung Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
⁴Istituto Nazionale per la Fisica della Materia, Universitá degli Studi di Messina, Contrada Papardo, C.P. 50, 98166 Messina, Italy