Monte Carlo Simulations with Indefinite and Complex-Valued Measures

Abstract

A method is presented to tackle the sign problem in the simulations of systems having indefinite or complex-valued measures. In general, this new approach is shown to yield statistical errors smaller than the crude Monte Carlo using absolute values of the original measures. Exactly solvable, one-dimensional Ising models with complex temperature and complex activity illustrate the considerable improvements and the workability of the new method even when the crude one fails.

Comments: 10 A4 pages, postscript (140K), UM-P-93-70