An introduction to quantum Monte Carlo methods

This is an overview of some numerical many-body methods in the quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) simulation family. First, the classical Monte Carlo technique (the Metropolis algorithm) is briefly reviewed. Then, the problem of rewriting a quantum mechanical expectation value as a form accessible to similar stochastic methods is considered. The transformations leading to three different finite-temperature lattice QMC algorithms - the worldline method, the fermion determinant method and a power series expansion method ("stochastic series expansion") - are discussed in some detail.