David M Ceperley

Professor

Ph.D. Theoretical Physics Cornell University Sept. 1976

Professor Ceperley received his BS in physics from the University of Michigan in 1971 and his Ph.D. in physics from Cornell University in 1976. After two years of postdoctoral work at Rutgers University, he worked as a staff scientist at both Lawrence Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. In 1987, he joined the Department of Physics at Illinois. Professor Ceperley is a staff scientist at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at Illinois.

Professor Ceperley's work can be broadly classified into technical contributions to quantum Monte Carlo methods and contributions to our physical or formal understanding of quantum many-body systems. His most important contribution is his calculation of the energy of the electron gas, providing basic input for most numerical calculations of electronic structure. He was one of the pioneers in the development and application of path integral Monte Carlo methods for quantum systems at finite temperature, such as superfluid helium and hydrogen under extreme conditions.

Professor Ceperley is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2006.

Other Activities

Electronic Structure of Condensed Matter: The goals of our research are to develop computational methods for condensed matter starting from the fundamental many-body equations. The primary methods used are quantum Monte Carlo simulations, which can find exact properties of many-body systems, and density functional methods, which can be applied to diverse solids and liquids. We are combining these approaches to create new methods and to test the accuracy of calculations on materials. Current research includes studies of electron fluids, metalization of hydrogen at high pressure, simulations of solids and liquids as a function of temperature, and atoms in strong magnetic fields.

Prediction of Macroscopic Properties of Liquid Helium from Computer Simulation: This research is concerned with fundamental aspects of helium and quantum fluids in general; we are addressing outstanding problems in the current understanding of relevant phenomena such as Bose condensation, superfluidity, and phase transitions, as well as of theoretical issues such as the inference of bulk properties of matter from the study of finite clusters. The theoretical issues involved in helium systems are of direct relevance to understanding other many-body quantum systems such as correlated electronic systems.

For more information:

Complete list of publications
Physics 466 web page

Honors and awards:

• Center for Advanced Studies Professor (2009)
• Founder Professor of Engineering (2006)
• National Academy of Science (2005)
• Fellow, Institute of Physics (1999)
• Fellow, American Academy of Arts & Sciences (1999)
• Rahman Prize in Computational Physics of the American Physical Society (1998)
• Feenberg Medal (1994)

Selected Publications:

• M. A. Morales, E. Schwegler, D. Ceperley, C. Pierleoni, S. Hamel, and K. Caspersen, Phase separation in hydrogen–helium mixtures at Mbar pressures, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106, 1324-1329 (2009).
• M. Holzmann, B. Bernu, V. Olevano, R. M. Martin and D. M. Ceperley, Renormalization factor and effective mass of the two-dimensional electron gas, Phys. Rev. B 79, 041308(R) (2009). cond-mat 0810.2450.
• Delaney, K., C. Pierleoni and D. M. Ceperley, Quantum Monte Carlo Simulation of the High Pressure Molecular-Atomic Transition in Fluid Hydrogen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 235702-1-4(2006).
• B. Clark and D. M. Ceperley. Off-diagonal long-range order in solid ⁴He. Phys. Rev. Lett. 96,105302-1-4 (2006).
• D. M. Ceperley and B. Bernu. Ring exchanges and the supersolid phase of ⁴He. Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 155303-1-4 (2004).
• D. M. Ceperley. Path integrals in the theory of condensed helium. Rev. Mod. Phys. 67, 279-356 (1995).
• D. M. Ceperley and B. J. Alder. Ground state of the electron gas by a stochastic method. Phys. Rev. Lett. 45, 566-569 (1980).