Hartree-Fock ground state of the three-dimensional electron gas.
In 1962, Overhauser showed that within Hartree-Fock (HF) the electron gas is unstable to a spin-density wave state. Determining the true HF ground state has remained a challenge. Using numerical calculations for finite systems and analytic techniques, we study the unrestricted HF ground state of the three-dimensional electron gas. At high density, we find broken spin symmetry states with a nearly constant charge density. Unlike previously discussed spin wave states, the observed wave vector of the spin-density wave is smaller than 2k(F). The broken-symmetry state originates from pairing instabilities at the Fermi surface, a model for which is proposed.
Zhang
Shiwei
S
Department of Physics, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23187, USA.
Ceperley
D M
DM