Diffusion Monte Carlo study of the equation of state of solid ortho-D$_2$

Abstract

We present results of Diffusion Monte Carlo calculations for a system of solid ortho-D_2 at different densities, for pressure ranging from 0 up to 350MPa. We compare the equation of state obtained using two of the most used effective intermolecular potentials, i.e. the Silvera--Goldman and the Buck potentials, with experimental data, in order to assess the validity of the model interactions. The Silvera-Goldman potential has been found to provide a satisfactory agreement with experimental results, showing that, as opposed to what recently found for p-H_2, three--body forces can be efficiently accounted for by an effective two--body term.