Publications and current projects
Mike Towler

Currently I am working on:

• The development of the quantum Monte Carlo method and our implementation of it in the CASINO code
• Foundational issues in quantum mechanics, particularly pilot-wave methods

Submitted and published scientific papers

For translations and creative writing, see the list at the bottom of the page

• 54. Quantum Monte Carlo, or, how to solve the many-particle Schrödinger equation accurately whilst retaining favourable scaling with system size
  M.D. Towler
  To be published in Computational Methods for Large systems (Wiley, 2009)
  [PDF]
• 53. Fundamental high-pressure scale from all-electron quantum Monte calculations
  K.P. Esler, R.E. Cohen, B. Militzer, J. Kim, R.J. Needs, and M.D. Towler
  Submitted to Physical Review Letters (2009)
• 52. Benchmark ab initio quantum Monte Carlo calculations for small molecules using Slater and Gaussian basis sets
  N. Nemec, M.D. Towler and R.J. Needs
  Submitted to J. Chem. Phys. (2009).
  [PDF]
• 51. High-temperature high-pressure properties of silica from quantum Monte Carlo
  K.P. Driver, R.E. Cohen, Z. Wu, B. Militzer, P. Lopez Rios, M.D. Towler, R.J. Needs, and J.W. Wilkins
  Submitted to Nature (2009)
• 50. Pilot waves, Bohmian metaphysics, and the foundations of quantum mechanics
  M.D. Towler (2009)
  [online]
• 49. Continuum variational and diffusion quantum Monte Carlo calculations
  R.J. Needs, M.D. Towler, N.D. Drummond and P. Lopez Rios.
  Submitted to J. Chem. Phys. (2009)
  [PDF]
• 48. Ab initio quantum Monte Carlo study of the positronic hydrogen cyanide molecule
  Y. Kita, R. Maezono, M. Tachikawa, M.D. Towler, R.J. Needs
  J. Chem. Phys. 131, 134310 (2009)
  [PDF]
  
• 47. Quantum Monte Carlo study of porphyrin transition metal complexes
  J. Koseki, R. Maezono, M. Tachikawa, M.D. Towler and R.J. Needs
  J. Chem. Phys., 129, 085103 (2008).
  [PDF]
• 46. Fragmentation method combined with quantum Monte Carlo calculations
  R. Maezono, H. Watanabe, S. Tanaka, M.D. Towler, and R.J. Needs
  J. Phys. Soc. Jpn., 76, 064301 (2007).
• 45. Equation of state and Raman frequency of diamond from quantum Monte Carlo
  R. Maezono, A. Ma, M.D. Towler, and R.J. Needs
  Phys. Rev. Lett., 98, 025701 (2007).
  [PDF]
• 44. Inhomogeneous backflow transformations in quantum Monte Carlo
  P. Lopez Rios, A. Ma, N.D. Drummond, M.D. Towler and R.J. Needs
  Phys. Rev. E, 74, 066701 (2006).
  [PDF]
• 43. Quantum Monte Carlo calculations of the dissociation energy of the water dimer
  N.A. Benedek, I.K. Snook, M.D. Towler, and R.J. Needs
  J. Chem. Phys, 125, 104302 (2006).
• 42. The Quantum Monte Carlo method
  M.D. Towler
  Phys. Stat. Sol.(b) 243, 2573 (2006).
  [PDF]
• 41. Quantum Monte Carlo study of the Ne atom and the Ne⁺ ion
  N.D. Drummond, P. Lopez Rios, A. Ma, J.R. Trail, G. Spink, M.D. Towler and R.J. Needs
  J. Chem. Phys. 124, 224104 (2006).
  [PDF]
• 40. Quantum Monte Carlo calculations of the disociation energies of three-electron hemibonded radical cationic dimers
  I.G. Gurtubay, N.D. Drummond, M.D. Towler and R.J. Needs
  J. Chem. Phys. 124, 024318 (2006).
  [PDF]
• 39. Quantum Monte Carlo calculation of the structural properties and the B1-B2 phase transition of MgO
  D. Alfè, M. Alfredsson, J. Brodholt, M.J. Gillan, M.D. Towler and R.J. Needs
  Phys. Rev. B 72, 014114 (2005)
  [PDF]
• 38. Scheme for adding electron-nucleus cusps to Gaussian orbitals
  A.Ma, N.D. Drummond, M.D. Towler and R.J. Needs .
  J. Chem. Phys. 122, 224322 (2005).
  [PDF]
• 37. All-electron diffusion quantum Monte Carlo calculations for the noble gas atoms He to Xe
  A. Ma, N.D. Drummond, M.D. Towler and R.J. Needs .
  Phys. Rev. E 71, 066704 (2005)
  [PDF]
• 36. Diamond and betatin structures of Si studied with quantum Monte Carlo calculations
  D. Alfè, M.J. Gillan, M.D. Towler and R.J. Needs
  Phys. Rev. B 70, 214102 (2004)
  [PS]
• 35. Interpretation of Hund's multiplicity rule for the carbon atom
  K. Hongo, R. Maezono, Y. Kawazoe, H. Yasuhara, M.D. Towler and R.J. Needs
  J. Chem. Phys., 121, 7144 (2004)
  [PDF]
• 34. Jastrow correlation factor for atoms, molecules and solids
  N.D. Drummond, M.D. Towler and R.J. Needs .
  Phys. Rev. B, 70, 235119 (2004)
  [PDF]
• 33. Coulomb finite size effects in quasi-2d systems
  B. Wood, W.M.C. Foulkes, M.D. Towler and N.D. Drummond .
  J. Phys.: Cond. Mat. 16, 891 (2004)
  [PDF]
• 32. Diffusion quantum Monte Carlo study of three-dimensional Wigner crystals
  N.D. Drummond, Z. Radnai, J.R. Trail, M. D. Towler, and R.J. Needs .
  Phys. Rev. B, 69, 085116 (2004)
  [PDF]
• 31. Quantum Monte Carlo and the CASINO program : highly accurate total energy calculations for finite and periodic systems
  M.D. Towler
  Psi-k Newsletter "Scientific Highlight of the Month" December 2003
• 30. Oxygen stripes in La_0.5Ca_0.5MnO₃ from ab initio calculations
  Valeria Ferrari, M.D. Towler and P.B. Littlewood .
  Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 227202 (2003)
  [PDF]
• 29. Stability and aromaticity of B_iN_i rings and fullerenes
  Jon M. Matxain, Jesus M. Ugalde, M.D. Towler and R.J. Needs
  J. Phys. Chem. A 107, 10004 (2003)
  [PDF]
• 28. Quantum Monte Carlo study of sodium
  Ryo Maezono, M.D. Towler, Y. Lee and R.J. Needs
  Phys. Rev. B, 68, 165103 (2003)
  [PDF]
• 27. Unrestricted Hartree-Fock theory of Wigner crystals
  J.R. Trail, M.D. Towler and R.J. Needs
  Phys. Rev. B 68, 045107 (2003)
  [PDF] .
• 26. Quantum Monte Carlo calculations for excited electronic states
  R.J. Needs, A.R. Porter and M.D. Towler
  Recent Advances in Quantum Monte Carlo Methods, II, eds. W. A. Lester, S. Rothstein and S. Tanaka, pp.143-155 (World Scientific, 2002).
• 25. Electronic structure of p-type conducting transparent oxides
  J. Robertson, P.W. Peacock, M.D. Towler and R.J. Needs
  Thin Solid Films 411, 96 (2002).
• 24. The CASINO program : quantum Monte Carlo in molecular quantum chemistry and condensed matter physics
  M.D. Towler and R.J. Needs
  "Quantum Monte Carlo: Recent Advances and Common Problems in Condensed Matter and Field Theory" (ETS, Pisa, 2001).
  [gzipped postscript]
• 23. The diffusion quantum Monte Carlo method: designing trial wave functions for NiO
  R.J. Needs and M.D. Towler
  Int. J. Mod. Phys. B17 5425 (2003)
  download
• 22. Quantum Monte Carlo calculations for ground and excited states
  R.J. Needs, P.R.C. Kent, A.R. Porter, M.D. Towler and G. Rajagopal
  Int. J. Quant. Chem. 86, 218 (2001)
  [HTML]
• 21. Excitons in small hydrogenated silicon clusters.
  A.R. Porter, M.D. Towler and R.J. Needs
  Phys. Rev. B 64, 035320 (2001)
  [PDF]
• 20. Electronic excited-state wave functions for quantum Monte Carlo: Application to silane and methane
  A.R. Porter, O.K. Al-Mushadani, M.D. Towler and R.J. Needs
  J. Chem. Phys.114, 7795 (2001)
  [ PDF]
• 19. Carbon clusters near the crossover to fullerene stability
  P.R.C. Kent, M.D. Towler, R.J. Needs and G. Rajagopal
  Phys. Rev. B 62, 15394 (2000)
  [ PDF]
• 18. Pseudopotentials for correlated-electron calculations
  Y. Lee, M.D. Towler, P.R.C. Kent, R.J. Needs and G. Rajagopal
  Phys. Rev. B 62, 13347 (2000)
  [ PDF]
• 17. An introductory guide to Gaussian basis sets in solid-state electronic structure calculations
  M.D. Towler
  Notes for Summer School "Ab initio modelling in solid-state chemistry", Torino, September 2000.
  [gzipped postscript]
• 16. Minimum principles and level splitting in quantum Monte Carlo excitation spectra: application to diamond
  M.D. Towler, R.Q. Hood and R.J. Needs
  Phys. Rev. B 62, 2330-2337 (2000)
  [ PDF]
• 15. Muonium as a hydrogen analogue in silicon and germanium; quantum effects and hyperfine parameters
  A.R. Porter, M.D. Towler and R.J. Needs
  Phys. Rev. B 60, 13534 (1999)
  [PDF]
• 14. Quantum Monte Carlo simulations of real solids
  W.M.C. Foulkes, M. Nekovee, R.L. Gaudoin, M.L. Stedman, R.J. Needs, R.Q. Hood, G. Rajagopal, M.D. Towler, P.R.C. Kent, Y. Lee, W.-K. Leung, A.R. Porter and S.J. Breuer.
  High Performance Computing, edited by R.J. Allan, M.F. Guest, A.D. Simpson, D.S. Henty, and D.A. Nicole (Plenum) 1998.
  [PDF]
• 13. Quantum Monte Carlo calculations of the one-body density matrix and excitation energies of silicon
  P.R.C. Kent, R.Q. Hood, M.D. Towler, R.J. Needs and G. Rajagopal
  Phys. Rev. B 57, 15293 (1998)
  [PDF]
• 12. Density functional theory in periodic systems using local Gaussian basis sets
  M.D. Towler, A. Zupan and M. Causà
  Comp. Phys. Commun., 98, 181-205 (1996)
  [HTML]
• 11. The use and optimization of Gaussian basis sets in periodic Hartree-Fock calculations
  M.D. Towler
  Proceedings of HCM Network School "Hartree-Fock theory of the electronic structure of solids" (1995)
  [Read update of this article for 2000 Summer school instead: gzipped postscript]
• 10. Direct evidence of O(p) holes in Li-doped NiO from Hartree-Fock calculations
  W.C. Mackrodt, N.M. Harrison, V.R. Saunders, N.L. Allan and M.D. Towler
  Chem. Phys. Lett. 250, 66 (1996)
  [gzipped postscript]
• 9. Cluster and supercell calculations for carbon-doped silicon
  R. Orlando, P. Azavant, M.D. Towler, R. Dovesi and C. Roetti
  J. Phys.: Cond. Matt. 8, 1223 (1996)
  [PDF]
• 8. Magnetic interactions and the co-operative Jahn-Teller effect in KCuF₃
  M. D. Towler, R. Dovesi and V.R. Saunders
  Phys. Rev. B 52, 10150 (1995)
  [HTML],[PDF file]
• 7. Ab initio study of the surface and interfacial properties of a layered MgO/NiO film
  M.D. Towler, M.I. McCarthy and N.M. Harrison
  Phys. Rev. B 52, 5375 (1995)
  [PDF]
• 6. Localized electron behaviour within band theory: a Hartree-Fock description of M_xMg_1-xO (M=Mn, Ni)
  M. D. Towler, N.L. Allan, N.M. Harrison, V.R. Saunders and W.C. Mackrodt
  J. Phys.: Cond. Matt. 7, 6231 (1995)
  [PDF]
• 5. Ab initio study of NiO and MnO
  M.D. Towler, N.L. Allan, N.M. Harrison, V.R. Saunders, W.C. Mackrodt and E. Aprà
  Phys. Rev. B 50, 5041 (1994)
  [PDF]
• 4. Calculated pressure-induced phase transition in MgF₂
  N.L. Allan, R.I. Hines, M.D. Towler and W.C. Mackrodt
  J. Chem. Phys. 100, 4710 (1994)
  [PDF]
• 3. Equations of state for polar solids at high pressures and elevated temperatures
  M.D. Towler, R.I. Hines, N.L. Allan, M. Braithwaite and W.C. Mackrodt
  High Pressure Science and Technology, ed. S.C. Schmidt, J.W.Shaner, G.A.Samara, 129 (1994)
• 2. Ab initio Hartree-Fock calculations of CaO, VO, MnO and NiO
  W.C. Mackrodt, N.M. Harrison, V.R. Saunders, N.L. Allan, M.D. Towler, E. Aprà and R. Dovesi
  Phil. Mag. A 68, 653 (1993)
• 1. Modelling Explosives
  N.L. Allan, M.D. Towler, M. Braithwaite, D.L. Cooper and W.C. Mackrodt
  in CCP5 Information Quarterly for Computer Simulation of Condensed Phases, Ed. W. Smith, 36 (1992)

This stuff can be seen in context, with other relevant material and forthcoming translations, at the TTI local history site.

• The Cave of Castelvenere (Translation of La Buca di Castelvenere)
  P. Mencacci and M. Zecchini
  (Transl. M.D. Towler 2007)
  [PDF, or in context here]
• An excursion to Mount Gragno and the cave of Cascaltendine (Translation of Una Gita alla Tana di Cascaltendine nel Monte di Gragno)
  Pietro Magri, 1880
  (Transl. M.D. Towler 2005)
  [PDF, or in context here]

I occasionally publishes local interest stories in my News from the Towler Institute 'blog' for Barga News. Here is the full collection of stories, in order of publication:

• First Post (March 2007)
  M.D. Towler
  [online]
• The Palace of Ismeno (August 2007)
  M.D. Towler
  [online, PDF]
• Bronze Hermaphrodites and the Fat Boy Filter (December 2007)
  M.D. Towler
  [online, PDF]
• Sammy and the Eagle (April 2008)
  M.D. Towler
  [online, PDF]