Variational calculation of the depolarization of the maximum density droplet in two-dimensional quantum dots

We show that, if a variational parameter in the Fock-Darwin states is optimized, the lowest Landau level (LLL) approximation agrees well with configuration interaction results using several Landau levels for a wide range of confining and Coulomb interaction strengths. Within the optimized LLL approximation, we study several phase transitions beyond the maximum density droplet for four to nine electrons and find similar patterns in the phase-space diagrams for angular momenta up to $N(N+1)∕2$. Calculations for larger angular momentum reveal unpolarized phases for filling factors up to $\ensuremath{\nu}=1∕3$.