Physical Review A
Variational method for the quantum statistics of many-particle systems
Marvin D. Girardeau
Abstract
A general variational approach to the quantum statistics of many-particle systems is developed, based on the Gibbs-Bogoliubov variational principle and the ``thermodynamically equivalent Hamiltonian'' method first applied to the BCS model by Bogoliubov, Zubarev, and Tserkovnikov [Sov. Phys.---Dokl. 2, 535 (1957)] and subsequently generalized by Wentzel [Phys. Rev. 120, 1572 (1960)]. The method retains a judiciously chosen discrete set of momentum transfers in the second-quantized interaction Hamiltonian. It is expected to be applicable to a variety of systems including both crystalline solids and quantum fluids such as liquids and dense plasma phases.