  It has become increasingly feasible to use quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) methods
to study correlated fermion systems for realistic Hamiltonians. We give a
summary of these techniques targeted at researchers in the field of correlated
electrons, focusing on the fundamentals, capabilities, and current status of
this technique. The QMC methods often offer the highest accuracy solutions
available for systems in the continuum, and, since they address the many-body
problem directly, the simulations can be analyzed to obtain insight into the
nature of correlated quantum behavior.
