Correlation Energy of an Electron Gas at High Density

The quantity εc is defined as the correlation energy per particle of an electron gas expressed in rydbergs. It is a function of the conventional dimensionless parameter rₛ, where rₛ^-3 is proportional to the electron density. Here εc is computed for small values of rₛ (high density) and found to be given by εc=Alnrₛ+C+O(rₛ). The value of A is found to be 0.0622, a result that could be deduced from previous work of Wigner, Macke, and Pines. An exact formula for the constant C is given here for the first time; earlier workers had made only approximate calculations of C. Further, it is shown how the next correction in rₛ can be computed. The method is based on summing the most highly divergent terms of the perturbation series under the integral sign to give a convergent result. The summation is performed by a technique similar to Feynman's methods in field theory.