Fixed-phase quantum Monte Carlo method applied to interacting electrons in a quantum dot

A system of N=2-4 interacting electrons in a quantum dot, with applied magnetic field, is treated using a quantum Monte Carlo method. The standard fixed-node Monte Carlo approach is modified to facilitate the inclusion of a magnetic field giving rise to a fixed-phase approximation which is introduced here. By making use of this approximation, results whose accuracy is comparable to that of exact diagonalization can be obtained. A simple set of coordinates for the four-particle problem is also used which facilitates finding a symmetrized basis.