Ground state of small mixed helium and spin-polarized tritium clusters: A quantum Monte Carlo study

Abstract

We report results for the ground-state energy and structural properties of small 4He–T↓ clusters consisting of up to four T↓ and eight 4He atoms. These results have been obtained using very well-known 4He–4He and T↓– T↓ interaction potentials and several models for the 4He– T↓ interatomic potential. All the calculations have been performed with variational and diffusion Monte Carlo methods. It takes at least three atoms to form a mixed bound state. In particular, for small clusters the binding energies are significantly affected by the precise form of the 4He– T↓ interatomic potential but the stability limits remain unchanged. The only exception is the 4He2T↓ trimer whose stability in the case of the weakest 4He– T↓ interaction potential is uncertain while it seems stable for other potentials. The mixed trimer 4He(T↓)2, a candidate for the Borromean state, is not bound. All other studied clusters are stable. Some of the weakest bound clusters can be classified as quantum halo as a consequence of having high probability of being in a classically forbidden region.