One-component plasma of a million particles via angular-averaged Ewald potential: A Monte Carlo study

In this work we derive a correct expression for the one-component plasma (OCP) energy via the angular-averaged Ewald potential (AAEP). Unlike Yakub and Ronchi [J. Low Temp. Phys. 139, 633 (2005)0022-229110.1007/s10909-005-5451-5], who had tried to obtain the same energy expression from a two-component plasma model, we used the original Ewald potential for an OCP. A constant in the AAEP was determined using the cluster expansion in the limit of weak coupling. The potential has a simple form suitable for effective numerical simulations. To demonstrate the advantages of the AAEP, we performed a number of Monte Carlo simulations for an OCP with up to a million particles in a wide range of the coupling parameter. Our computations turned out at least two orders of magnitude more effective than those with a traditional Ewald potential. A unified approach is offered for the determination of the thermodynamic limit in the whole investigated range. Our results are in good agreement with both theoretical data for a weakly coupled OCP and previous numerical simulations. We hope that the AAEP will be useful in path integral Monte Carlo simulations of the uniform electron gas.