arXiv · 1106.1520
The elastic constants of solid 4He under pressure: a diffusion Monte Carlo study
Abstract
We study the elasticity of perfect 4He at zero-temperature using the diffusion Monte Carlo method and a realistic semi-empirical pairwise potential to describe the He-He interactions. Specifically, we calculate the value of the elastic constants of hcp helium C_{ij} as a function of pressure up to 110 bar. It is found that the pressure dependence of all five non-zero C_{ij} is linear and we provide accurate parametrization of each of them. Our elastic constants results are compared to previous variational calculations and low-temperature measurements and in general notably good agreement is found among them. Furthermore, we report T = 0 results for the Gruneisen parameters, sound velocities and Debye temperature of hcp 4He. This work represents the first of a series of computational studies aimed at thoroughly characterizing the response of solid helium to external stress-strain.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
C. Cazorla, Y. Lutsyshyn, J. Boronat. 2011-06-08. The elastic constants of solid 4He under pressure: a diffusion Monte Carlo study. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.85.024101
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.