Diffusion Monte Carlo study of the equation of state of solid ortho-D2

The authors present results of diffusion Monte Carlo calculations for a system of solid ortho-D-2 at different densities, for pressure ranging from 0 up to 350 MPa. They compare the equation of state obtained using two of the most used effective intermolecular potentials, i.e., the Silvera-Goldman and the Buck potentials, with experimental data, in order to assess the validity of the model interactions. The Silvera-Goldman potential has been found to provide a satisfactory agreement with experimental results, showing that, as opposed to what recently found for p-H-2, three-body forces can be efficiently accounted for by an effective two-body term. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.