The method of moments and its application to the description of liquid He4

The method of moments used to calculate the time dependent correlation functions is discussed. To reconstruct the approximate correlation function the finite number of the moments of a given function is needed. Every such approximation is an exact solution of the problem described by some model Hamiltonian. The formulae for any order of the approximation are given. Also described is another way of using the moments, which relies on the expansion of the Fourier transform of the correlation function into the series of the Hermitian polynomials, the coefficient of which are combinations of the moments. The method of moments was applied to the description of liquid He4 which is at absolute zero temperature. The calculated moments of the density-density correlation function were applied to the description of the experimentally observed oscillations of width and average energy of the distribution of neutrons scattered by liquid helium as a function of the wave vector greater than 2 Angstroem-1. Good agreement between the calculated and experimentally observed oscillations was obtained. It was also shown that the dynamics structure factor is highly asymmetrical. Using the calculated moments of the velocity-velocity correlation function, the expansion coefficients of the incoherent, double differential scattering cross-section into the series over the inverse wave vector were found up to the term of third order. The coefficients of this expansion do not depend explicitly on the relative particle occupation fraction of the zero-momentum state, i.e. the condensate. This expansion describes well the expermentally observed distributions of scattered neutrons for the wave vector 14.33 Angstroem-1. The obtained results indicate that the inelastic neutron scattering method for high momentum transfers cannot be used as a straightforward method of measuring the relative occupation number of the zero-momentum state. The methods of elaboration of neutron scattering results at high momentum transfers, used to find the relative occupation number of the zero-momentum state, are ot justified. (author)