  In the variational approach to quantum statistics, a smearing formula
describes efficiently the consequences of quantum fluctuations upon an
interaction potential. The result is an effective classical potential from
which the partition function can be obtained by a simple integral. In this
work, the smearing formula is extended to higher orders in the variational
perturbation theory. An application to the singular Coulomb potential exhibits
the same fast convergence with increasing orders that has been observed in
previous variational perturbation expansions of the anharmonic oscillator with
quartic potential.
