Quantum Monte Carlo study of static properties of one 3He atom in superfluid 4He

The local environment and the energetic properties of one He-3 atom solved in bulk superfluid He-4 are studied by means of the diffusion Monte Carlo method. The chemical potential of the He-3 impurity is calculated with a generalized reweighting method which allows for a reliable estimation of this quantity. Results for the chemical potential, radial distribution and structure functions, volume-excess parameter, and effective mass are given for several pressures and compared with available experimental data. An overall agreement with experiment is obtained except for the kinetic energy of the He-3 atom which, in accordance with previous theoretical estimations, appears to be considerably larger than determinations from deep-inelastic neutron scattering. [S0163-1829(99)11713-2].