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Progress of Theoretical Physics

On the Stability of the Hartree-Fock Solution in Many-Body Problem

K. Sawada, Nobuyuki Fukuda

Published Apr 1, 1961• 38 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A necessary condition for the stability of the Hartree-Fock solution in many-body problem is presented. If this condition is not satisfied, then the solution becomes no longer stable as was discussed by Overhauser in connection with the one-dimensional spin wave model. A variational method is proposed in this case to construct a stable solution which has definitely a lower energy than the Hartree-Fock value. The workability of our method is tested in some realistic examples like the B.C.S.-Bogolyubov theory of superconductivity. Then the method is applied to field theory which seems to be inconsistent in view of the presence of “ghost states”. A canonical transformation leads to a new vacuum state with lower energy, but the high momentum part of the coupling is not damped.

DOI
10.1143/ptp.25.653

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A necessary condition for the stability of the Hartree-Fock solution in many-body problem is presented. If this condition is not satisfied, then the solution becomes no longer stable as was discussed by Overhauser in connection with the one-dimensional spin wave model. A variational method is proposed in this case to construct a stable solution which has definitely a lower energy than the Hartree-Fock value. The workability of our method is tested in some realistic examples like the B.C.S.-Bogolyubov theory of superconductivity. Then the method is applied to field theory which seems to be inconsistent in view of the presence of “ghost states”. A canonical transformation leads to a new vacuum state with lower energy, but the high momentum part of the coupling is not damped.
The stability condition of the Hartree-Fock states, which are constructed out of the plane waves times spin-up or -down eigenfunctions. i.e. the paramagnetic (P), ferromagnetic (F) and unsaturated ferromagnetic (UF) states, is examined in some detail in the case of repulsive δ-function. Yukawa and Coulomb interactions. The spherical Fermi surface leads of course to the minimum energy in each case; this energy is then minimized as the function of polarization n=(n+-n-)/(n++n-,n± being the total number of spin-up and -down electrons. We thus can determine the domains of density where each of the three states is most stable. Then the stability of these states against small deformations of one-particle wave functions is examined in their respective domains. In the case of δ-function potential no instability occurs, while for an electron gas the P state (rs ≪ 5.45) is always unstable and the F state (rs > 5.45) is unstable near the critical density. The variational method in the form of canonical transformation is presented to obtain a new Hartree-Fock solution having helical spin structure in case instability occurs. The case of δ-function interaction is worked out for the P state and it is actually shown that such a solution can exist if and only if the P state becomes unstable. This new solution is of non-perturbative nature in the sense that it can never be obtained by perturbation theory starting from the free ground state.
We present a generalization of the Hartree-Fock (HF) method incorporating two-body correlations. The correlations are introduced by means of a unitary operator eiF{e}^{\mathrm{iF}}eiF, where FFF is a Hermitian one- and two-body operator to be determined by the variational principle. Assuming that the matrix elements of FFF are small so that powers of FFF higher than the second may be neglected, a set of linear equations determining FFF is obtained. The relation between our method and methods used to treat singular interactions is discussed. The method is applied to two recently suggested models and is compared with the HF method, second-order perturbation theory, and with the random-phase approximation. It is found that our method yields very good results within the range of validity of our approximations, which seems to call forth applications to more realistic problems. Possible applications to the study of collective phenomena in nuclei are indicated.
Two infinite families of two-parameter generalized Overhauser orbitals are introduced and shown to satisfy explicitly, for occupied states, the self-consistent Hartree-Fock equations in the thermodynamic limit. For an attractive $\ensuremath{\delta}$ interaction, they give lower Hartree-Fock energy than the usual plane-wave solutions, even for relatively weak coupling and/or low density. The limiting members (possessing an infinite number of harmonics) of both families appear to tend to a "classical static lattice" state, via a second-order transition for one family and via first order for the other. The related density profiles and energy expressions are calculated as functions of the two new parameters. A direct variation with respect to these parameters was done numerically and results are presented graphically.
The condition that the plane wave state is the lowest Hartree-Fock state of a large fermion system with repulsive interactions, is generally investigated and applied to the systems with $\ensuremath{\delta}$-type interactions, finite-range interactions, and long-range Coulomb interactions. It is found that for finite-range interactions the plane wave state is stable in both the high-density and low-density regions, but may become unstable in the intermediate-density region. The high-density stable region disappears for $\ensuremath{\delta}$-type interactions, while the low-density stable region vanishes for long-range Coulomb interactions. Especially for an electron gas, the critical value rs{r}_{s}rs​ is smaller than 4.5. A speculation concerning the transition of the true ground state is discussed.
There exists a widely believed opinion, that the many-body ground state of a two-dimensional electron system at a completely filled lowest Landau level (the filling factor ν=1ν=1ν=1) is described by the so-called Hartree-Fock wave function, and that this solution is the unique, exact eigenstate of the system at ν=1ν=1ν=1. I show that this opinion is erroneous, construct an infinite number of other variational many-body wave functions, and discuss the properties of a few states which have the energy substantially lower than the energy of the Hartree-Fock state.