Density Functional Theory of Freezing of Superfluid Helium 4

Abstract

We discuss freezing of superfluid helium 4 in the frame of density functional theory. We first review the previous attempts made with different inputs for the liquid properties. We then present a new calculation based on a more recent input. Our resugt confirms the finding by Likos et al. [C. N. Likos, S. Moroni, and G. Senatore, Phys. Rev. B, 55, 8867 (1997)] that the solid is always too stable. However, a slight rescaling leads to freezing parameters and an equation of state for the solid consistent with the experiments. We discuss the physical origin of this rescaling.