Ph.D. Dissertation - index

Title:

Abstract:

The properties of small lithium clusters with sizes ranging from n=1 to 5 atoms were investigated using quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) methods. Cluster geometries were found from complete active space self consistent field (CASSCF) calculations. A detailed development of the QMC method leading to the variational QMC (V-QMC) and diffusion QMC (D-QMC) methods is shown. The many-body aspect of electron correlation is introduced into the QMC importance sampling electron-electron correlation functions by using density dependent parameters, and are shown to increase the amount of correlation energy obtained in V-QMC calculations. A detailed analysis of D-QMC time-step bias is made and is found to be at least linear with respect to the time-step.

The D-QMC calculations determined the lithium cluster ionization potentials to be 0.1982(14) [0.1981], 0.1895(9) [0.1874(4)], 0.1530(34) [0.1599(73)], 0.1664(37) [0.1724(110)], 0.1613(43) [0.1675(110)] Hartrees for lithium clusters n=1 through 5, respectively; in good agreement with experimental results shown in the brackets. Also, the binding energies per atom was computed to be 0.0177(8) [0.0203(12)], 0.0188(10) [0.0220(21)], 0.0247(8) [0.0310(12)], 0.0253(8) [0.0351(8)] Hartrees for lithium clusters n=2 through 5, respectively. The lithium cluster one-electron density is shown to have charge concentrations corresponding to nonnuclear attractors. The overall shape of the electronic charge density also bears a remarkable similarity with the anisotropic harmonic oscillator model shape for the given number of valence electrons.

Dissertation

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