Diffusion Monte Carlo calculations for the ground states of atoms and ions in neutron star magnetic fields

TL;DR

This paper extends the diffusion quantum Monte Carlo method to calculate the ground states of atoms and ions in extremely strong magnetic fields relevant to neutron stars, using adiabatic wave functions with Jastrow factors.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of diffusion Monte Carlo with adiabatic and Jastrow-guided wave functions for atoms in intense magnetic fields.

Findings

Ground state energies for Z=2 to 26 in neutron star magnetic fields

Method successfully handles strong magnetic field effects

Provides data relevant for astrophysical models

Abstract

The diffusion quantum Monte Carlo method is extended to solve the old theoretical physics problem of many-electron atoms and ions in intense magnetic fields. The feature of our approach is the use of adiabatic approximation wave functions augmented by a Jastrow factor as guiding functions to initialize the quantum Monte Carlo prodecure. We calcula te the ground state energies of atoms and ions with nuclear charges from Z= 2, 3, 4, ..., 26 for magnetic field strengths relevant for neutron stars.