Effective Hamiltonian with holomorphic variables

The pure-quantum self-consistent harmonic approximation (PQSCHA) permits to study a quantum system by means of an effective classical Hamiltonian - depending on quantum coupling and temperature - and classical-like expressions for the averages of observables. In this work the PQSCHA is derived in terms of the holomorphic variables connected to a set of bosonic operators. The holomorphic formulation, based on the path integral for the Weyl symbol of the density matrix, makes it possible to approach directly general Hamiltonians given in terms of bosonic creation and annihilation operators.Comment: 11 pages, no figures (2nd version: few mistakes fixed in Sects. IV-V

Effective Hamiltonian with holomorphic variables

The pure-quantum self-consistent harmonic approximation (PQSCHA) permits to study a quantum system by means of an effective classical Hamiltonian. In this work the PQSCHA is reformulated in terms of the holomorphic variables connected to a set of bosonic operators. The holomorphic formulation, based on the olomorphic path integral for the Weyl symbol of the density matrix, makes it possible to directly approach general Hamiltonians given in terms of bosonic creation and annihilation operators.Comment: Proceedings of the Conference "Path Integrals from peV to TeV - 50 Years from Feynman's paper" (Florence, August 1998) -- 2 pages, ReVTe

Monte Carlo simulations on rare-earth Holmium ultra-thin films

Motivated by recent experimental results in ultra-thin helimagnetic Holmium films, we have performed an extensive classical Monte Carlo simulation of films of different thickness, assuming a Hamiltonian with six inter-layer exchange constants. Both magnetic structure and critical properties have been analyzed. For n>16 (n being the number of spin layers in the film) a correct bulk limit is reached, while for lower n the film properties are clearly affected by the strong competition among the helical pitch and the surface effects, which involve the majority of the spin layers: In the thickness range n=9-16 three different magnetic phases emerge, with the high-temperature, disordered, paramagnetic phase and the low-temperature, long-range ordered one separated by an intriguing intermediate-temperature block phase, where outer ordered layers coexist with some inner, disordered ones. The phase transition of these inner layers displays the signatures of a Kosterlitz-Thouless one. Finally, for n<~7 the film collapse once and for all to a quasi-collinear order. A comparison of our Monte Carlo simulation outcomes with available experimental data is also proposed, and further experimental investigations are suggested.Comment: 29 pages, 14 figure

Effective potential approach to quantum dissipation in condensed matter systems

The effects of dissipation on the thermodynamic properties of nonlinear quantum systems are approached by the path-integral method in order to construct approximate classical-like formulas for evaluating thermal averages of thermodynamic quantities. Explicit calculations are presented for one-particle and many-body systems. The effects of the dissipation mechanism on the phase diagram of two-dimensional Josephson arrays is discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of Nonlinearity, Integrability And All That 20 Years After Needs 7