Within the hyperspherical framework, the solution of the time-independent Schr\"odinger equation for a
n-particle system is divided into two steps: the solution of a Schr\"odinger-type equation in the hyperangular degrees of freedom and the solution of a set of coupled Schr\"odinger-type hyperradial equations. The solutions to the former provide effective potentials and coupling matrix elements that enter into the latter set of equations. This paper develops a theoretical framework to determine the effective potentials, as well as the associated coupling matrix elements, for few-body systems with finite angular momentum
L=1 and negative and positive parity $\ensuremath{\Pi}$. The hyperangular channel functions are expanded in terms of explicitly correlated Gaussian basis functions, and relatively compact expressions for the matrix elements are derived. The developed formalism is applicable to any
n; however, for $n\ensuremath{\ge}6$, the computational demands are likely beyond present-day computational capabilities. A number of calculations relevant to cold-atom physics are presented, demonstrating that the developed approach provides a computationally efficient means to solving four-body bound and scattering problems with finite angular momentum on powerful desktop computers. Details regarding the implementation are discussed.
The method of correlated basis functions provides a means of systematically exploiting our intuitive understanding of real physical systems. Here we seek especially to develop a formalism for describing systems of strongly interacting fermions, for example, nuclei and liquid
He3, using a complete set of correlated functions ${\ensuremath{\Psi}}_{\mathrm{m}}=\frac{F{\ensuremath{\Phi}}_{\mathrm{m}}}{{({\ensuremath{\Phi}}_{\mathrm{m}}, {F}^{2}{\ensuremath{\Phi}}_{\mathrm{m}})}^{\frac{1}{2}}}$.
F is taken as a product of two-body factors, $\ensuremath{\Pi}{i<j}^{}[f({r}_{\mathrm{ij}})]$, the
f(rij) embodying at least the correlations arising from strong short-range repulsions; and ${{\ensuremath{\Phi}}_{\mathrm{m}}}$, a set of independent-particle-model functions which might serve as a basis in the absence of highly singular interactions. The matrix elements
Hmn,
Nmn of the Hamiltonian and identity operators with respect to the correlated basis ${{\ensuremath{\Psi}}_{\mathrm{m}}}$ are evaluated by generalization of cluster-expansion techniques developed originally for the calculation of the partition function of a classical imperfect gas and adapted to the quantum-mechanical many-body problem by Iwamoto and Yamada. Contributions to our expansions for the
Hmn are classified according to order of magnitude in the quantity $\ensuremath{\rho}\ensuremath{\omega}$, where $\ensuremath{\omega}=\ensuremath{\int}({f}^{2}(r)\ensuremath{-}1)d\mathrm{r}$ is a "correlation parameter" and $\ensuremath{\rho}$ the average particle density. To the extent that $|\ensuremath{\rho}\ensuremath{\omega}|$ is small, it provides a true expansion parameter. A detailed technical discussion of the cluster expansions is given, with special emphasis on their symmetry properties upon truncation. Although the many-body problem is soluble by simultaneous diagonalization of the matrices (
Hmn) and (
Nmn), it is preferable first to transform to an orthonormal basis of "unperturbed" correlated functions ${{\ensuremath{\Theta}}_{\mathrm{m}}}$ with respect to which the Hamiltonian and identity operators have the matrix representations (
Hmn) and $({N}_{\mathrm{mn}})=({\ensuremath{\delta}}_{\mathrm{mn}})$, and then to attempt the separate diagonalization of (
Hmn). In general, such a transformation is expedited by the L\"owdin procedure carried out to the desired order in $\ensuremath{\rho}\ensuremath{\omega}$. However, a Schmidt orthogonalization scheme might prove more advantageous in specific cases. Field-theoretic techniques (of both perturbative and nonperturbative nature) may be brought to bear in the diagonalization of (
Hmn). The inverse of the unitary transformation which takes the basis ${{\ensuremath{\Phi}}_{\mathrm{m}}}$ into the basis ${{\ensuremath{\Theta}}_{\mathrm{m}}}$, applied to the given singular Hamiltonian, leads---for any
F in the class considered---to a non-singular "effective Hamiltonian." Following this formal cue, we set out to construct explicitly a second-quantized effective Hamiltonian which generates the same matrix elements, to prescribed order in $\ensuremath{\rho}\ensuremath{\omega}$, when operating between independent-particle kets of the model occupation-number representation, as does the given Hamiltonian in the configuration-space representation, between the corresponding correlated functions of the L\"owdin basis. The quasiparticles described by this effective Hamiltonian interact via well-behaved two-body, three-body, \ifmmode\cdot\else\textperiodcentered\fi{}\ifmmode\cdot\else\textperiodcentered\fi{}\ifmmode\cdot\else\textperiodcentered\fi{},
Q-body, \ifmmode\cdot\else\textperiodcentered\fi{}\ifmmode\cdot\else\textperiodcentered\fi{}\ifmmode\cdot\else\textperiodcentered\fi{} potentials, in contrast to the highly singular two-body interactions of the real particles. For small $|\ensuremath{\rho}\ensuremath{\omega}|$, the effective two-body forces predominate. An avenue to deeper understanding of the applicability of the nuclear-shell model and the dressed-quasiparticle theory of liquid
He3 has been opened. This article treats only the formalism for a uniform extended medium. Numerical calculations, as well as the extension of the method to finite systems, will follow.
Variational solutions are given for problems involving diverse fermionic and bosonic N=2--7-body systems. The trial wave functions are chosen to be combinations of correlated Gaussians, which facilitate a fully analytical calculation of the matrix elements. The nonlinear parameters of the trial function are selected by a stochastic technique. The method has proved efficient, accurate, and seems feasible for any few-body bound-state problems emerging in atomic or nuclear physics. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
In this dissertation, we analyze both many- and few-body systems under external confinement with tunable interactions. First, we develop a density-renormalization ap-proach for describing two-component fermionic systems with short-range interactions. This renormalized zero-range interaction eliminates the instabilities produced by a bare Fermi pseudopotential and provides a simple description of the interactions from the weakly interacting BCS region up to unitarity. In the second part of the thesis, we focus on few-body systems in the BCS-BEC crossover. To obtain the solutions, we implement two different numerical techniques: a correlated-Gaussian-basis-set expansion and a fixed-node diffusion Monte Carlo tech-nique. We also develop an innovative numerical technique for obtaining solutions to the four-body problem in the hyperspherical representation. Our solutions provide an accurate description of few-body trapped systems. The analysis of two-, three-, and four-body systems, for instance, provides a few-body per-spective on the BCS-BEC crossover problem. The analysis of the spectrum of such systems allows us to visualize important pathways for molecule formation. We then use
Precise variational solutions are given for problems involving diverse fermionic and bosonic (N=2--7)-body systems. The trial wave functions are chosen to be combinations of correlated Gaussians, which are constructed from products of the single-particle Gaussian wave packets through an integral transformation, thereby facilitating fully analytical calculations of the matrix elements. The nonlinear parameters of the trial function are chosen by a stochastic technique. The method has proved very efficient, virtually exact, and it seems feasible for any few-body bound-state problems emerging in nuclear or atomic physics.
Recent developments of experimental techniques in the field of ultra-cold gases open a path to study the crossover from 'few' to 'many' on the quantum level. In this case, accurate description of inter-particle correlations is very important since it is believed that they can be utilized by quantum engineers in quantum metrology, quantum thermometry, quantum heat engines, {\it etc}. Unfortunately, a theoretical description of these correlations is very challenging since they are far beyond any variational approaches. By contrast, the exact many-body description rapidly hits numerical limitations due to an exponential increase of the many-body Hilbert space. In this work, we brush up a very effective method of constructing a many-body basis which originates in the physical argumentation. We show that, in contrast to the commonly used approach of a straightforward cut-off, it enables one to perform exact calculations with very limited numerical resources. As examples, we study quantum correlations in systems of spinless bosons and two-component mixtures of fermions confined in a one-dimensional harmonic trap being far from the perturbative regime.