Advances in quantum Monte Carlo techniques for non-relativistic many-body systems

Setting up an occasion for scientists from the three communities of quantum chemistry, condensed matter physics, and nuclear physics to gather and exchange expertise and progress in all the aspects of Quantum Monte Carlo techniques for continuum systems that go beyond the mere application of standard algorithms. In particular, our main objectives include:

Understanding the level of progress that has been already reached, and that is reachable in the future, towards controllable accuracy in many-fermion calculations. This implies the building of a comprehensive understanding of all the approximations (the standard fixed-node, but also the fixed-phase approximation for the case of DMC calculations, constrained-path approximations for path-based algorithms and systematic uncertainties in lattice methods) as well as the possible ways of going beyond them, by means of more efficient transient calculations.
Promoting a definition of a standard level of accuracy of QMC calculations that can be applied across different research fields.
Defining a meaningful benchmark problem to be used in order to systematically compare the different methods and approximations, both for ground state and finite temperature calculations.

Motivation and Context Main questions