Ab initio simulation of resonant forbidden reflections in Ge crystals

Forbidden reflections are observed in the case of diffraction of synchrotron radiation with wave-lengths close to the absorption edges in crystals. A new method for calculating the intensity of thermal-motion-induced (TMI) forbidden reflections is proposed in this paper. It includes two stages: simulation of instantaneous thermal atomic displacements using ab initio molecular dynamics and subsequent quantum-mechanical calculations of the resonance scattering amplitude for various configurations. This procedure is used to calculate the temperature dependence of the 600 reflection intensity for Ge. The proposed method for simulating forbidden TMI reflections is suitable for any crystal structures and can explain many results so far obtained using synchrotron.     

Ab initio theory and calculations of X-ray spectra

There has been dramatic progress in recent years both in the calculation and interpretation of various x-ray spectroscopies. However, current theoretical calculations often use a number of simplified models to account for many-body effects, in lieu of first principles calculations. In an effort to overcome these limitations we describe in this article a number of recent advances in theory and in theoretical codes which offer the prospect of parameter free calculations that include the dominant many-body effects. These advances are based on ab initio calculations of the dielectric and vibrational response of a system. Calculations of the dielectric function over a broad spectrum yield system dependent self-energies and mean-free paths, as well as intrinsic losses due to multi-electron excitations. Calculations of the dynamical matrix yield vibrational damping in terms of multiple-scattering Debye–Waller factors. Our ab initio methods for determining these many-body effects have led to new, improved, and broadly applicable x-ray and electron spectroscopy codes. To cite this article: J.J. Rehr et al., C. R. Physique 10 (2009).     

Ab initio calculations of mirror energy difference in sd-shell nuclei

Mirror energy difference is a key observable in isospin symmetry breaking, containing rich information about nuclear structure. Understanding the mechanisms underlying mirror energy difference is important in nuclear physics. In the present work, we extensively investigated mirror energy difference using ab initio valence-space inmedium similarity renormalization group approach, focusing specifically on sd-shell nuclei. The low-lying spectra of Al isotopes and N = 8 isotones, together with their...     

Ab initio calculations of the vibrational spectra of AgInSe2 and AgInTe2

The phonon spectra and densities of states of AgInSe₂ and AgInTe₂ semiconductor crystals with a chalcopyrite structure have been calculated from first principles by the linear response method. The frequencies calculated at the center of the Brillouin zone are in agreement with the experimental data obtained using IR and Raman spectroscopy. According to the atomic contributions to the vibrational modes, the spectra of the AgInSe₂ and AgInTe₂ crystals exhibit three groups of bands: the vibrations in the low- and medium-frequency ranges are mixed in character with approximately identical contributions of all sublattices, and the bands at higher frequencies are associated with the contributions of Ag, C ^VI and In, C ^VI (C ^VI = Se, Te) atoms. The position of these bands allows us to make the inference that, in the crystals under investigation, the In-C ^VI bonding is stronger than the Ag-C ^VI bonding.     

Ab initio calculations of energy transfer and non-additivity in the He-Ne laser system

Ab initio calculations were performed for several suggested mechanisms of energy transfer between helium metastable particles and neon. Optimized geometries and excited-state energies were calculated for neon excited-state complexes and the convergence properties of the non-additive contributions to the interaction energies were examined. The most probable excitation-transfer mechanism was found to be based on an energy difference of 0.0674 eV between the triplet excited state of and the singlet excited state of . No theoretical evidence was found for the production of neon singlet excited-state complexes other than 20.0858 to 20.4875 eV by the considered two-, three- and four-body models of energy transfer processes. The energy curves of the reactions involving the excited-state complexes and are provided and compared with the previously reported experimental results on the reaction . The relation between the probability of energy transfer and laser activity is discussed. The non-additive contribution to the total interaction energy of the nominated intermediate complex was found to be negligible, pointing to the possibility of constructing model potentials and simulation of larger systems. Received: 15 December 1998 / Received in final form: 20 March 1999     

Ab initio calculations of the vibrational spectra of 1/1 approximant of i-AlCuFe quasicrystal

The partial and total densities of vibrational states of the 1/1 crystal approximant of the icosahedral i-AlCuFe quasicrystal are calculated using the method of pseudopotentials in the generalized gradient approximation (to describe the electronic states) and the frozen-phonon method (to determine the dynamic matrix). The results obtained agree well with experimental inelastic neutron scattering data, which indicates that the method of calculations is appropriate and could be used to calculate other crystal approximants.     

Ab initio calculations of generalized-stacking-fault energy surfaces and surface energies for FCC metals

The ab initio calculations have been used to study the generalized-stacking-fault energy (GSFE) surfaces and surface energies for the closed-packed (1 1 1) plane in FCC metals Cu, Ag, Au, Ni, Al, Rh, Ir, Pd, Pt, and Pb. The GSFE curves along (1 1 1) direction and (1 1 1) direction, and surface energies have been calculated from first principles. Based on the translational symmetry of the GSFE surfaces, the fitted expressions have been obtained from the Fourier series. Our results of the GSFEs and surface energies agree better with experimental results. The metals Al, Pd, and Pt have low γ_us/γ_I value, so full dislocation will be observed easily; while Cu, Ag, Au, and Ni have large γ_us/γ_I value, so it is preferred to create partial dislocation. From the calculations of surface energies, it is confirmed that the VIII column elements Ni, Rh, Ir, Pd, and Pt have higher surface energies than other metals.     

Ab initio calculations of the photoionization of diatomic molecules

A review is presented of the calculation of photoionization spectra, particularly in the spectral range where electron autoionization of diatomic molecules takes place. In addition to some interesting results obtained over years that compare favourably with experiment, the emphasis here is put on the relation between the methods developed for the calculation of observables associated with the continuum energy spectrum of the electrons and the Alchemy system of programs. This system of programs serves as a basis for initial and intermediate calculations. The examples presented show that diatomic molecules not only in gas phase but also oriented in space or physisorbed at surfaces may be studied readily.     

Ab initio absorption spectra of 3-tert-butylcyclohexene

We present an ab initio investigation of the optical properties of 3-tert-butylcyclohexene in both its conformers. The optical spectra, here the photoabsorption cross section, have been obtained within density-functional theory at the independent-particle level, and within time-dependent density-functional theory. The optical spectra of the two conformers show small but visible differences, hence suggesting that optical absorption experiments can discriminate among the two molecular geometries. To cite this article: K. Gaál-Nagy et al., C. R. Physique 10 (2009).     

Ab initio calculations of the lattice dynamics of silver halides

Based on ab initio pseudopotential calculations, the results of investigations of the lattice dynamics of silver halides AgHal (Hal = Cl, Br, I) are presented. Equilibrium lattice parameters, phonon spectra, frequency densities and effective atomic-charge values are obtained for all types of crystals under study.     

Phonon spectra of YTiO3 and Y2Ti2O7: Ab initio calculations

Using the Hartree-Fock and density-functional methods, we have calculated the structure and the lattice dynamics of YTiO₃. Frequencies of Raman and IR phonons of this crystal have been determined. The crystal structure and phonon spectrum of Y₂Ti₂O₇ have been calculated.     

Ab initio calculation of the superconducting transition temperature

The superconducting transition temperature is calculated for a series of representative metals from a selfconsistent LMTO-bandstructure calculation. We carefully avoid any uncontrolled approximations apart from the use of a local exchange-correlation potential and the rigid-ion approximation for the electron-phonon interaction, Our results for V, Nb, Ta, Mo, W, Pd, Pt, Pb clearly indicate that these popular approximations are incapable of reproducing the observed transition temperatures.     

Ab initio determination of the torsional spectra of acetic acid

The torsional potential energy surface and the favourite geometries of acetic acid are determined with MP4/cc-p VTZ ab initio calculations. The molecule shows two planar trans and cis conformers whose energy difference is 1882.7 cm^?1. Both minimum energy geometries are separated by a barrier of 4432.1 cm^?1. The most stable trans-conformer shows a quite low methyl torsion barrier of 169.8 cm^?1. The roto-torsional energy levels have been calculated up to J = 10. The two torsional fundamental frequencies of the trans-conformer, the methyl and the OH torsion are 82.857 (A²) and 77.050cm^?1 (E) and 568.532 (A²) and 568.418cm^?1 (E). The V₃ barrier causes a splitting of 0.315cm^?1 in the ground vibrational state where the quartic centrifugal distortion constants have been predicted to be D_J = 90.4kHz, D_JK = ?301.5kHz and D_K = 165.4kHz. Finally, the far-infrared spectra of two isotopomers have been simulated from ab initio calculations.     

Ab initio calculations of phonon transport in ZnO and ZnS

We present an approach to calculate ballistic phonon transport that combines the atomistic Green’s function (AGF) method with ab initio results. For the interatomic potential we use the harmonic approach. The equilibrium positions of the atoms and the interatomic force constants (ifcs) are calculated using the ABINIT program package [X. Gonze et al., Z. Kristallogr. 220, 558 (2005)], which is based on density functional theory. Therefore, the presented approach is parameter free. From the Green’s function of the system we determine the density of states as well as the transmission function. The thermal conductance is obtained within the linear response regime. We apply this approach to bulk ZnO and bulk ZnS. Transmission functions for different transport directions for each material are presented. A comparison of the transmission function shows, that a ZnO/ZnS interface could be a promising phonon blocker. Adding such interfaces in ZnO or ZnS based thermoelectric devices could therefore increase the figure of merit.