First-principles simulations for attosecond photoelectron spectroscopy based on time-dependent density functional theory

We develop a first-principles simulation method for attosecond time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. This method enables us to directly simulate the whole experimental processes, including excitation, emission and detection on equal footing. To examine the performance of the method, we use it to compute the reconstruction of attosecond beating by interference of two-photon transitions (RABBITT) experiments of gas-phase Argon. The computed RABBITT photoionization delay is in very good agreement with recent experimental results from [Klünder et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 143002 (2011)] and [Guénot et al., Phys. Rev. A 85, 053424 (2012)]. This indicates the significance of a fully-consistent theoretical treatment of the whole measurement process to properly describe experimental observables in attosecond photoelectron spectroscopy. The present framework opens the path to unravel the microscopic processes underlying RABBITT spectra in more complex materials and nanostructures.     

Classical density functional theory meets Monte-Carlo simulations

ABSTRACT

Typically the quality of an approximate density functional is evaluated by a direct comparison of its predictions in a given test case to exact data obtained by computer simulations. An important example for such an approach is the test of equilibrium structure of a simple fluid as measured by the pair distribution function g(r) or the cavity correlation function y(r). However, the combination of exact density profiles and the analytical structure of density functional theory allows one to determine and potentially improve the quality of a functional in a more sophisticatedway.     

Quantum-mechanical calculations based on density functional theory

The basic concepts of density functional theory (DFT) together with the local density approximation (LDA) and the recent improvement in form of the generalized gradient approximations (GGA) are discussed. Band structure calculations using the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method are presented in relation to pseudopotential schemes both corresponding to T=0. For finite temperatures the most advanced technique is the Car-Parrinello (CP) molecular dynamics (MD) approach, e.g. in its projector augmented wave (PAW) implementation. In CP-MD simulations nuclear motion and the electronic degrees of freedom are treated within one formalism. Such DFT calculations are illustrated for selected examples, including the breathing mode of BaBiO₃. the phase transition in SrTiO₃ and VO₂ and the Li diffusion in the superionic conductor Li₃N studied by conventional and CP molecular dynamics.     

New observations on hydrogen bonding in ice by density functional theory simulations

In this paper, we report on a series of computational simulations on hydrogen bonding in two ice phases （Ih and Ic） using CASTEP with PW91 and RPBE exchange-correlation based on ab initio density functional theory. The strength of the H-bond is correlated with intramolecular O-H stretching, and the energy splitting exists for both the H-bond and covalent O-H stretching. By analyzing the dispersion relationship of to（q）, we observe the separation of the longitudinal optic （LO） mode from transverse optic （TO） mode at the gamma point, seemingly interpreting the controversial two H-bond peaks in the vibrational spectrum of ice recorded by inelastic incoherent neutron scattering experiments. The test of ambient environment on phonon density of sates （PDOS） shows that the relaxed tetrahedral structure is the most stable structural configuration for water clusters.     

Size-dependent density of nanoparticles and nanostructured materials

We discuss the size-dependent density of nanoparticles and nanostructured materials keeping the recent experimental results in mind. The density is predicted to increase with decreasing size for nanoparticles but it can decrease with size for nanostructured materials that corroborates the experimental results reported in the literature.     

基于含时密度泛函理论的表面等离激元研究进展

纳米粒子的局域表面等离激元(LSP)由于其新颖的光学特性成为目前国内外研究的热点之一. 本文利用含时密度泛函理论(TDDFT)对金属团簇及石墨烯纳米结构中的等离激元激发及调制的物理本质进行了研究. 和宏观大小的材料相比, 由于纳米结构的尺寸和量子受限效应, 纳米结构的等离激元具有一些不同的特征. 在低能共振区, 光谱线发生展宽, 并且发生劈裂. 由于纳米单体间的电磁耦合作用, 使聚合的纳米结构表现出了与单体不同的光学性质. 这些结果为等离激元的调控提供了坚实的理论指导.     

基于密度泛函理论的单层氢化石墨烯特性分析

本文采用密度泛函理论的第一性原理方法,研究了不同尺寸H-graphene的稳定性、HOMO-LU-MO能隙以及电子激发态.研究结果表明,对于C_(16)H_(10)、C_(30)H_(14)、C_(48)H_(18)、C_(70)H_(22)、C_(96)H_(26)、C_(126)H_(30)计算的比结合能,C_(126)H_(30)相比C_(16)H_(10)的比结合能增长23.9%,且比结合能随着H-graphene尺寸扩大而增加,意味着稳定性不断提高.通过对HOMO-LUMO能隙分析发现,在较小尺寸的H-graphene中,由于量子效应起主要作用,因此出现了较大的HOMO-LUMO能隙,且随着H-graphene团簇尺寸的增加,能隙逐渐缩小可以看出,对于无限大的H-graphene团簇中,HOMO-LUMO能隙无限趋近于零(相当于零带隙),其电子性质与纯石墨烯相似.通过分析C_(16)H_(10)、C_(30)H_(14)、C_(48)H_(18)、C_(70)H_(22)激发态以及了吸收光谱,发现随着尺寸的扩大,吸收光谱发生红移,为石墨烯在电子器件领域的应用提供理论基础.     

基于密度泛函理论的CO2吸附微观机理比较研究

为探究吸附法捕获CO₂过程中的微观机理和吸附剂材料间的作用关系,基于密度泛函理论方法,综合比较了典型吸附剂包括煤基官能团、Fe、限域离子液体、Na₂CO₃、SrTiO₃与CO₂的吸附过程和差异性.根据不同计算策略,着重分析比较了吸附能、结构优化参数、吸附构型以及原子分布等参数.结果表明,化学吸附中CO₂分子与吸附面呈平行关系时通常吸附能最大;在一种材料的同类型官能团中,吸附能大小与氧原子的数量呈正相关关系;吸附过程中C-O键的伸长活化会生成一种重要的中间产物CO₂^-.提出在探寻CO₂吸附材料时可以在含氧原子较多的官能团、活性金属表面等方面进一步探究.最后对基于密度泛函理论的CO₂的吸附机理的进一步研究方向进行了展望.     

基于密度泛函理论的叶绿素A性质的研究

在液相环境中,采用密度泛函理论(DFT)、含时密度泛函理论(TD-DFT)、Multiwfn波函数分析软件,在pbepbe/6-311g(d)基组水平上,计算并分析了叶绿素A的结构、紫外光谱和电子—空穴分布,结果表明:pbepbe/6-311g(d)方法是计算叶绿素A紫外吸收光谱更精确的方法;叶绿素A分子的吡咯环与取代基相互作用的过程中,吡咯环Ⅳ受侧链"尾巴"的影响最大;理论计算的紫外光谱与实验数据吻合较好,其中635.71 nm和446.87 nm处的两个吸收峰可认为是叶绿素A的特征吸收峰;侧链或取代基团在叶绿素A激发过程中是给电子体,卟啉"头"既是电子供体,也是电子受体.     

Origin of unrealistic blunting during atomistic fracture simulations based on MEAM potentials

Atomistic simulations based on interatomic potentials have frequently failed to correctly reproduce the brittle fracture of materials, showing an unrealistic blunting. We analyse the origin of the unrealistic blunting during atomistic simulations by modified embedded-atom method (MEAM) potentials for experimentally well-known brittle materials such as bcc tungsten and diamond silicon. The radial cut-off which has been thought to give no influence on MEAM calculations is found to have a decisive effect on the crack propagation behaviour. Extending both cut-off distance and truncation range can prevent the unrealistic blunting, reproducing many well-known fracture behaviour which have been difficult to reproduce. The result provides a guideline for future atomistic simulations that focus on various fracture-related phenomena including the failure of metallic-covalent bonding material systems using MEAM potentials.     

Nuclear density functional theory

An understanding of atomic nuclei is crucial for a complete nuclear theory, for the nuclear astrophysics, for performing new experimental tasks, and for various other applications. Within a density functional theory, the total binding energy of the nucleus is given by a functional of the nuclear density matrices and their derivatives. The variation of the energy density functional with respect to particle and pairing densities leads to the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov equations. The “Universal Nuclear Energy Density Functional” (UNEDF) SciDAC project to develop and optimize the energy density functional for atomic nuclei using state-of-the-art computational infrastructure, is briefly described. The ultimate goal is to replace current phenomenological models of the nucleus with a well-founded microscopic theory with minimal uncertainties, capable of describing nuclear data and extrapolating to unknown regions.     

基于密度泛函理论解读不同高密度储氢材料释氢能力

采用基于密度泛函理论的第一原理平面波赝势方法,研究了MgH₂, LiBH₄,LiNH₂,NaAlH₄几种高密度储氢材料及其合金的释氢及影响机理.结果表明:高密储氢材料MgH₂,LiBH₄,LiNH₂,NaAlH₄都比较稳定,释氢温度都很高,合金化可以降低它们的稳定性,但系统稳定性不是决定高密度储氢材料释氢性质的关键因素;带隙的宽窄基本可以表征储氢材料成键的强弱,能隙越宽,键断开越难,释氢温度就越高;LiNH₂价带顶成键峰主要由Li—N成键贡献,N—H键构成较低的峰,使得LiNH₂储氢材料的带隙虽很窄释氢温度却较高,且放氢过程中有氨气放出;合金化使得几种高密度储氢材料的带隙变窄,费米能级进入导带,从而使它们的释氢性能大大改善;电荷布居分析发现LiBH₄中B—H键最强,LiNH₂中H—N键最弱,因此LiNH₂中H相对容易放出.合金化后,各储氢材料中X—H键强度都有所降低,且LiMgNH₂中N—H键强度最低,因此从降低释氢温度角度,发展LiNH₂储氢材料最为有利. 关键词： 储氢材料 第一原理 释氢能力     

Novel surface tension isotherm for surfactants based on local density functional theory

In this Letter we report a new general method for calculating of surface tension isotherms in the presence of surfactants, based on a local density functional. We illustrate this method by deriving the interfacial tension isotherm for nonionic surfactants at an air-water or oil-water interface by using the self-consistent field theory of polymer brushes. We consider a particular case of local density functional to calculate explicitly how the interfacial tension and the surfactant adsorption depend on the surfactant bulk concentration. Experimental data for the surface tension and the surfactant adsorption isotherm for nonionic surfactants were interpreted with the help of the new isotherm. Very good agreement between the adsorption of n-dodecyl pentaoxyethylene glycol ether (C12E5) at an air-water interface, calculated from the surface tension isotherm and small-angle neutron-scattering is obtained.     

硅团簇自旋电子器件的理论研究

利用过渡金属掺杂的硅基团簇, 构建了一种自旋分子结; 并利用第一性原理方法, 对其电子自旋极化输运性质进行了研究. 计算表明, 通过过渡金属掺杂可以有效地产生自旋极化电流, 磁性金属Fe和非磁性金属Cr和Mn掺杂的体系呈现出较明显的自旋极化透射现象, 但分子结的自旋极化输运能力与团簇孤立状态下的磁矩无一致性.从Sc到Ni的掺杂, 体系的自旋极化透射能力先增大后迅速减小, 在Fe掺杂的Si₁₂团簇中出现最大值. 关键词： 硅团簇 自旋极化输运 密度泛函理论 非平衡格林函数     

On the density functional theory

Based on the theoretical analysis of the Kohn Nobel lecture, three important analytical observations regarding the fundamental statements of the density functional theory are presented. It is also noted that the Kohn-Sham equation formally coincides with the Hartree-Fock-Slater equation: both equations have a single-particle character and differ from each other only by additions to the Hartree potential.     

Study of chemical bonding in the interhalogen complexes based on density functional theory

The density functional theory analysis was used for a number XYL complexes (XY is a dihalogen molecule and L is a Lewis base), formed between molecules I₂, ICl, IBr and pyridine. The calculated geometrical parameters, IR spectra and nuclear quadrupole interaction constants of iodine are consistent with the data of microwave spectroscopy and nuclear quadrupole resonance. The good correlation between the experimental and calculated binding energies of the inner electrons of iodine, chlorine and nitrogen atoms were found with the calculation using both Gaussian and Slater functions. The comparison of experimental and calculated changes in the electron density on the atoms upon complex formation suggested the choice of scheme for calculating the effective charge on the atoms, which allow us to interpret the experimental spectra. It is shown that the use of both calculated schemes allows us to predict the enthalpy of complex formation in close agreement with the experimental values. The energy analysis shows that in the complexes the electrostatic binding energy dominates that of covalent binding.     

Aluminum Hugoniot from model calculations including semicore electrons based on density functional theory

We present a method to obtain Hugoniot from model calculations based on density functional theory, and apply the method to aluminum Hugoniot. Technological advances have extended the experimental research of high energy density physics, and call for quantitative theoretical analysis. However, direct computation of Hugoniot from density functional theory is very difficult. We propose two step calculations of Hugoniot from density functional theory. The first step is molecular dynamics simulations with an ambient temperature for electrons. The second step is total energy calculations of a crystal with desired high temperatures for electrons and with the ambient temperature for electrons. We treated the semicore 2s and 2p electrons of aluminum as valence electrons only for the total energy calculations of the aluminum crystal. The aluminum Hugoniot from our model calculations is in excellent agreement with available experimental data and the previous density functional theory calculations in the literature.     

Phase diagram of silicon from atomistic simulations

In this Letter we present a calculation of the temperature-pressure phase diagram of Si in a range of pressures covering from -5 to 20 GPa and temperatures up to the melting point. The phase boundaries and triple points between the diamond, liquid, beta-Sn, and Si34 clathrate phases are reported. We have employed efficient simulation techniques to calculate free energies and to numerically integrate the Clausius-Clapeyron equation, combined with a tight-binding model capable of an accuracy comparable to that of first-principles methods. The resulting phase diagram agrees well with the available experimental data.