Accurate prediction of fundamental band gaps of crystalline solid state systems entirely within density functional theory is a long standing challenge. Here, we present a simple and inexpensive method that achieves this by means of non-empirical optimal tuning of the parameters of a screened range-separated hybrid functional. The tuning involves the enforcement of an ansatz that generalizes the ionization potential theorem to the removal of an electron in an occupied state described by a localized Wannier function in a modestly sized supercell calculation. The method is benchmarked against experiment for a set of systems ranging from narrow band gap semiconductors to large band gap insulators, spanning a range of fundamental band gaps from 0.2 to 14.2 eV and is found to yield quantitative accuracy across the board, with a mean absolute error of $\sim$0.1 eV and a maximal error of $\sim$0.2 eV.
Electronic and Optical Excitations in van der Waals Materials from a Non-Empirical Wannier-Localized Optimally-Tuned Screened Range-Separated Hybrid Functional
In this paper we present an approach aimed at performing many-body calculations of Born-effective charges of crystalline insulators, by including the electron-correlation effects. The scheme is implemented entirely in the real space, using Wannier-functions as single-particle orbitals. Correlation effects are computed by including virtual excitations from the Hartree-Fock mean field, and the excitations are organized as per a Bethe-Goldstone-like many-body hierarchy. The results of our calculations suggest that the approach presented here is promising.
We report an implementation of the constrained random phase approximation (cRPA) method within the projector augmented-wave framework. It allows for the calculation of the screened interaction in the same Wannier orbitals as our recent DFT+U and DFT+DMFT implementations. We present calculations of the dynamical Coulomb screened interaction in uranium dioxide and alpha and gamma cerium on Wannier functions. We show that a self-consistent calculation of the static screened interaction in DFT+U together with a consistent Wannier basis is mandatory for gamma cerium and uranium dioxide. We emphasiz…
Resolving Contradictory Estimates of Band Gaps of Bulk PdSe$_2$: A Wannier-Localized Optimally-Tuned Screened Range-Separated Hybrid Density Functional Theory Study
In this paper we have used our recently developed ab initio Wannier-function-based methodology to perform extensive Hartree-Fock and correlated calculations on Li$_{2}$O and LiCl to compute their Born effective charges. Results thus obtained are in very good agreement with the experiments. In particular, for the case of Li$_{2}$O, we resolve a controversy originating in the experiment of Osaka and Shindo {[}Solid State Commun. 51 (1984) 421] who had predicted the effective charge of Li ions to be in the range 0.58--0.61, a value much smaller compared to its nominal value of unity, thereby, sug…
Electronic structure and optical properties of halide double perovskites from a Wannier-localized optimally-tuned screened range-separated hybrid functional
A new method for the localization of crystalline orbitals for entangled energy bands is proposed. It is an extension of the Wannier-Boys algorithm [C. M. Zicovich-Wilson, R. Dovesi, and V. R. Saunders, J. Chem. Phys. 115, 9708 (2001)] which is particularly well-suited for linear combination of atomic orbital representations of the Bloch waves. It allows the inclusion of additional bands during the optimization of the unitary hybridization matrix used in the multi-band Wannier transformation. By a projection technique, the proper chemical character is extracted from the Bloch waves and compact …
Fe doped GST has shown experimentally the ability to alter its magnetic properties by phase change. In this work, we use screened exchange hybrid functional to study the single neutral substitutional 3d transition metal (TM) in crystalline GeTe and GeSb2Te4. By curing the problem of local density functional (LDA) such as over delocalization of the 3d states, we find that Fe on Ge/Sb site has its majority d states fully occupied while its minority d states are empty, which is different than previous predicted electronic configuration by LDA. From early transition metal Cr to heavier Ni, the maj…
We discuss a method for determining the optimally-localized set of generalized Wannier functions associated with a set of Bloch bands in a crystalline solid. By ``generalized Wannier functions'' we mean a set of localized orthonormal orbitals spanning the same space as the specified set of Bloch bands. Although we minimize a functional that represents the total spread sum_n [ <r^2>_n - <r>_n^2 ] of the Wannier functions in real space, our method proceeds directly from the Bloch functions as represented on a mesh of k-points, and carries out the minimization in a space of unitary matrices U_mn^…
The electronic ground state of a periodic crystalline solid is usually described in terms of extended Bloch orbitals; localized Wannier functions can alternatively be used. These two representations are connected by families of unitary transformations, carrying a large degree of arbitrariness. We have developed a localization algorithm that allows one to iteratively transform the extended Bloch orbitals of a first-principles calculation into a unique set of maximally localized Wannier functions. We apply this formalism here to the case of cubic BaTiO3. The purpose is twofold. First, a localize…
Bond strengths in solids computed from a Wannier-type construction of local vibrational modes
School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham（伯明翰大学化学学院）；Department of Chemistry, Southern Methodist University（南方卫理公会大学化学系）；Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM)（联邦材料研究与测试研究所（BAM））
We propose a systematic procedure for constructing effective lattice fermion models for narrow-band compounds on the basis of first-principles electronic structure calculations. The method is illustrated for the series of transition-metal (TM) oxides: SrVO$_3$, YTiO$_3$, V$_2$O$_3$, and Y$_2$Mo$_2$O$_7$. It consists of three parts, starting from LDA. (i) construction of the kinetic energy Hamiltonian using downfolding method. (ii) solution of an inverse problem and construction of the Wannier functions (WFs) for the given kinetic energy Hamiltonian. (iii) calculation of screened Coulomb intera…
We measure electron localization in different materials by means of a ``localization tensor'', based on Berry phases and related quantities. We analyze its properties, and we actually compute such tensor from first principles for several tetrahedrally coordinated semiconductors. We discuss the trends in our calculated quantity, and we relate our findings to recent work by other authors. We also address the ``hermaphrodite orbitals'', which are localized (Wannier-like) in a given direction, and delocalized (Bloch-like) in the two orthogonal directions: our tensor is related to the optimal local…
With its monoelemental composition, various crystalline forms and an inherently strong spin-orbit coupling, bismuth has been regarded as an ideal prototype material to expand our understanding of topological electronic structures. In particular, two-dimensional bismuth thin films have attracted a growing interest due to potential applications in topological transistors and spintronics. This calls for an effective physical model to give an accurate interpretation of the novel topological phenomena shown by two-dimensional bismuth. However, the conventional semi-empirical approach of adapting bu…
We derive a multi-band formulation of the orbital magnetization in a normal periodic insulator (i.e., one in which the Chern invariant, or in 2d the Chern number, vanishes). Following the approach used recently to develop the single-band formalism [T. Thonhauser, D. Ceresoli, D. Vanderbilt, and R. Resta, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 95}, 137205 (2005)], we work in the Wannier representation and find that the magnetization is comprised of two contributions, an obvious one associated with the internal circulation of bulk-like Wannier functions in the interior and an unexpected one arising from net curr…
We present a computational scheme to study spin excitations in magnetic materials from first principles. The central quantity is the transverse spin susceptibility, from which the complete excitation spectrum, including single-particle spin-flip Stoner excitations and collective spin-wave modes, can be obtained. The susceptibility is derived from many-body perturbation theory and includes dynamic correlation through a summation over ladder diagrams that describe the coupling of electrons and holes with opposite spins. In contrast to earlier studies, we do not use a model potential with adjusta…
The intense theoretical and experimental interest in topological insulators and semimetals has established band structure topology as a fundamental material property. Consequently, identifying band topologies has become an important, but often challenging problem, with no exhaustive solution at the present time. In this work we compile a series of techniques, some previously known, that allow for a solution to this problem for a large set of the possible band topologies. The method is based on tracking hybrid Wannier charge centers computed for relevant Bloch states, and it works at all levels…
Quantum weight and low-loss EELS signatures of Wannier quantum geometry in black phosphorus
Theoretical Sciences Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research（贾瓦哈拉尔·尼赫鲁高级科学研究中心理论科学部）；Institute of Science and Technology Austria（奥地利科学技术研究所）
The calculation of quasi-particle spectra based on the GW approximation is extended to systems of hundreds of atoms, thus expanding the size range of current approaches by more than one order of magnitude. This is achieved through an optimal strategy, based on the use of Wannier-like orbitals, for evaluating the polarization propagator. Our method is validated by calculating the vertical ionization energies of the benzene molecule and the band structure of crystalline silicon. Its potentials are then demonstrated by addressing the quasi-particle spectrum of a model structure of vitreous silica…
Optical absorption spectra of metal oxides from time-dependent density functional theory and many-body perturbation theory based on optimally-tuned hybrid functionals
The dependence of ab initio many-body perturbation theory within the $GW$ approximation on the eigensystem used in calculating quasiparticle corrections limits this method's predictive power. Here, we investigate the accuracy of the recently developed Wannier-localized optimally tuned screened range-separated hybrid (WOT-SRSH) functional as a generalized Kohn-Sham starting point for single-shot $GW$ ($G_0W_0$) calculations for a range of semiconductors and insulators. Comparison to calculations based on well-established functionals, namely PBE, PBE0, and HSE, as well as to self-consistent $GW$…
Koopmans-compliant functionals provide an orbital-density-dependent framework for an accurate evaluation of spectral properties; they are obtained by imposing a generalized piecewise-linearity condition on the total energy of the system with respect to the occupation of any orbital. In crystalline materials, due to the orbital-density-dependent nature of the functionals, minimization of the total energy to a ground state provides a set of minimizing variational orbitals that are localized and thus break the periodicity of the underlying lattice. Despite this, we show that Bloch symmetry can be…
