Numerical experiment on two-dimensional electron liquids. Thermodynamic properties and onset of short-range order

Thermodynamic properties of two-dimensional electron liquids are determined by numerical experiments over the domain of the plasma parameter ε=2πne⁴T², 0.05≤ε≤5×10³, where n, e, and T denote the number density, the unit charge, and the temperature in energy units, respectively. The correlation energy thus obtained is consistent with both the result of the plasma-parameter expansion calculation and that of earlier numerical experiments in the high-density domain. The pair correlation function $g(r)$ agrees with the analytical result when ε is small. Short-range order appears at the critical plasma parameter εₛᵣ in the range 10<εₛᵣ<15. It is pointed out that the two-dimensional screening function h(r)=ln[g(r)+1]+e²Tr is approximately a linear function of the radius r in the short-range domain, as in the case of three dimensions.