The 2-D electron gas at arbitrary spin polarizations and arbitrary coupling strengths: Exchange-correlation energies, distribution functions and spin-polarized phases

Abstract

We use a recent approach [Phys. Rev. Letters, {\bf 84}, 959 (2000)] for including Coulomb interactions in quantum systems via a classical mapping of the pair-distribution functions (PDFs) for a study of the 2-D electron gas. As in the 3-D case, the ``quantum temperature'' T_q of a classical 2-D Coulomb fluid which has the same correlation energy as the quantum fluid is determined as a function of the density parameter r_s. Spin-dependent exchange-correlation energies are reported. Comparisons of the spin-dependent pair-distributions and other calculated properties with any available 2-D quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) results show excellent agreement, strongly favouring more recent QMC data. The interesting novel physics brought to light by this study are: (a) the independently determined quantum-temperatures for 3-D and 2-D are found to be approximately the same, (i.e, universal) function of the classical coupling constant Gamma. (b) the coupling constant Gamma increases rapidly with r_s in 2-D, making it comparatively more coupled than in 3-D; the stronger coupling in 2-D requires bridge corrections to the hyper- netted-chain method which is adequate in 3-D; (c) the Helmholtz free energy of spin-polarized and unpolarized phases have been calculated. The existence of a spin-polarized 2-D liquid near r_s = 30, is found to be a marginal possibility. These results pertain to clean uniform 2-D electron systems.