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Understanding Three-Body Interactions In Hexagonal Close Packed Solid He-4, Ashleigh Locke Barnes

Doctoral Dissertations

The ground state properties of hexagonal close packed (hcp) solid ⁴He [He-4] are dominated by large atomic zero point motions which make the primary contribution to the solid’s low-temperature Debye-Waller (DW) factors. Preliminary investigations have also suggested that three-body interactions can play an important role in this system, particularly at higher densities. However, due to their computational cost, these interactions are not generally incorporated into theoretical models of solid ⁴He [He-4]. In order to accurately treat both zero point motion and three-body interactions, we have developed a perturbative treatment in which the three-body energy is added as a …