Monte Carlo Methods for Nuclear Structure

Abstract

Quantum Monte Carlo methods find fruitful application in large shell model problems. These methods reduce the imaginary-time many-body evolution operator to a coherent superposition of one-body evolutions in a fluctuating one-body field; the resultant path integral is evaluated stochastically. After a brief review of the capabilities and general strategy of Shell Model Monte Carlo methods, I discuss results and insights obtained from a number of applications. These include the ground state and thermal properties of {\it pf}-shell nuclei, the thermal and rotational behavior of rare-earth and $\gamma$-soft nuclei, and the calculation of double beta-decay matrix elements. Prospects for further progress in such calculations are also discussed.