Physical Review Letters

Stochastic Gradient Approximation: An Efficient Method to Optimize Many-Body Wave Functions

Ari Harju, B. Barbiellini, Sami Siljamaki, R. M. Nieminen, Gerardo Ortíz

Published Aug 18, 1997• 74 citations

Abstract

A novel, efficient optimization method for physical problems is presented. The method utilizes the noise inherent in stochastic functions. As an application, an algorithm for the variational optimization of quantum many-body wave functions is derived. The numerical results indicate superior performance when compared to traditional techniques.

DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.79.1173

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