Finite Temperature Quantum Effects in Many-Body Systems by Classical Methods

Abstract

A recent description of an exact map for the equilibrium structure and thermodynamics of a quantum system onto a corresponding classical system is summarized. Approximate implementations are constructed by pinning exact limits (ideal gas, weak coupling) and illustrated by calculation of pair correlations for the uniform electron gas and shell structure for harmonically confined charges. A wide range of temperatures and densities are addressed in each case. For the electron gas, comparisons are made to recent path integral Monte Carlo simulations showing good agreement. Finally, the relevance for orbital-free density functional theory for conditions of warm, dense matter is discussed briefly.