Variational quantum Monte Carlo calculations for solid surfaces

Quantum Monte Carlo methods have proven to predict atomic and bulk properties of light and nonlight elements with high accuracy. Here we report on variational quantum Monte Carlo (VMC) calculations for solid surfaces. Taking the boundary condition for the simulation from a finite-layer geometry, the Hamiltonian, including a nonlocal pseudopotential, is cast in a layer-resolved form and evaluated with a two-dimensional Ewald summation technique. The exact cancellation of all jellium contributions to the Hamiltonian is ensured. The many-body trial wave function consists of a Slater determinant with parametrized localized orbitals and a Jastrow factor with a common two-body term plus an additional confinement term representing further variational freedom to take into account the existence of the surface. We present results for the ideal (110) surface of gallium arsenide for different system sizes. With the optimized trial wave function, we determine some properties related to a solid surface to illustrate that VMC techniques provide reasonable results under full inclusion of many-body effects at solid surfaces.