Stochastic number projection method in the pairing-force problem

A new stochastic number projection method is proposed. The component of the BCS wave function corresponding to the right number of particles is obtained by means of a Metropolis algorithm in which the weight functions are constructed from the single-particle occupation probability. Either standard BCS or Lipkin-Nogami probability distributions can be used, thus the method is applicable for any pairing strength. The accuracy of the method is tested in the computation of pairing energies of model and real systems.