Linked-cluster expansion for Jastrow-type wave functions and its application to the electron-gas problem

Abstract

A linked-cluster expansion for the expectation values of operators between correlated wave functions of the Jastrow type is described. The expansion is based on the logarithm of the correlation function and leads to terms that are explicitly proportional to the particle number for infinite systems. The lowest-order terms for a weakly interacting system of spin-1/2 particles are calculated explicitly. From these, the Euler-Lagrange equations for the correlation functions have been calculated. The equation for the correlation function between particles of antiparallel spin can be solved by Fourier transform, and it is shown that for $r\to \infty$, the correlation function behaves like $1+\frac{A}{r^2}$. In the case of a system of particles interacting by hard-core repulsions, the logarithm of the correlation function does not exist inside the hard-core radius. It is then necessary to sum over ladder diagrams as in the derivation of the reaction matrix in many-body perturbation theory. This is carried out to provide a low-density approximation to the ground-state energy of the system and the Euler-Lagrange equation for the correlation function. It is argued that the correlation function again behaves like $1+\frac{A}{r^2}$ for large $r$. The expansion is applied to the problem of calculating the correlation energy of the electron gas. It is shown that a variational calculation based on the lowest-order terms in an expansion of the wave function leads to a divergent result (unbounded from below), but that a convergent result is obtained by summing over ring diagrams, which correspond to long-range polarization of the electron cloud. The result is similar to that of Gaskell obtained by a somewhat different method. It is shown analytically that at high densities the result behaves logarithmically, specifically as $0.0570\ln r_s-0.1324\mathrm{}$ Ry. The lowest-order exchange contributions have also been calculated and found to contribute 0.040 Ry to the energy at densities of physical interest.