Stochastic solution of a model meson-nucleon field theory

Ground-state properties in a model quantum field theory are calculated by stochastic evaluation of a path integral representation of the many-body propagator. The model consists of nonrelativistic nucleons coupled to vector and scalar mesons in one spatial dimension. Binding energies and density distributions are calculated for bound states of up to twenty nucleons. The binding energy as a function of density, the nucleon-nucleon correlation function, and the meson-meson correlation function are evaluated in nuclear matter. Exact ground-state solutions to the full field theory are shown to differ relatively little from those of the potential theory corresponding to the static limit. The exact solutions differ substantially from those of the mean-field (Hartree) approximation, but are quite similar to those obtained in the Hartree-Fock approximation.