Phase diagram of the dilute magnet LiHo_xY_{1-x}F_4

We study the effective long-range Ising dipole model with a local exchange interaction appropriate for the dilute magnetic compound LiHo_{x}Y_{1-x}F_4. Our calculations yield a value of 0.12 K for the nearest neighbor exchange interaction. Using a Monte Carlo method we calculate the phase boundary T_c(x) between the ferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases. We demonstrate that the experimentally observed linear decrease in T_c with dilution is not the simple mean-field result, but a combination of the effects of fluctuations, the exchange interaction and the hyperfine coupling. Furthermore, we find a critical dilution x_c=0.21(2), below which there is no ordering. In agreement with recent Monte Carlo simulations on a similar model, we find no evidence of the experimentally observed freezing of the glassy state in our calculation. We apply the theory of Stephen and Aharony to LiHo_{x}Y_{1-x}F_4 and find that the theory does predict a finite-temperature freezing of the spin glass. Reasons for the discrepancies are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Reduction of the sign problem using the meron-cluster approach

The sign problem in quantum Monte Carlo calculations is analyzed using the meron-cluster solution. The concept of merons can be used to solve the sign problem for a limited class of models. Here we show that the method can be used to \textit{reduce} the sign problem in a wider class of models. We investigate how the meron solution evolves between a point in parameter space where it eliminates the sign problem and a point where it does not affect the sign problem at all. In this intermediate regime the merons can be used to reduce the sign problem. The average sign still decreases exponentially with system size and inverse temperature but with a different prefactor. The sign exhibits the slowest decrease in the vicinity of points where the meron-cluster solution eliminates the sign problem. We have used stochastic series expansion quantum Monte Carlo combined with the concept of directed loops.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure

Local density approximation for confined bosons in an optical lattice

We investigate local and global properties of the one-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model with an external confining potential, describing an atomic condensate in an optical lattice. Using quantum Monte Carlo techniques we demonstrate that a local-density approximation, which relates the unconfined and the confined model, yields quantitatively correct results in most of the interesting parameter range. We also examine claims of universal behavior in the confined system, and demonstrate the origin of a previously calculated fine structure in the experimentally accessible momentum distribution.Comment: 7 pages, 11 figures; Section III updated and references adde