The spin-sensitive low-energy states in a parabolic quantum dot with small
numbers of electrons are examined by the multilevel blocking Monte Carlo me
thod. We quantify the importance of correlations and spin sensitivity by co
mparing exact results with the unrestricted Hartree-Fock approximation. Wit
h spin polarisation the agreement increases systematically, even for strong
interactions. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.