\textit{Ab initio} calculations of electron-phonon interactions including the polar Fröhlich coupling have advanced considerably in recent years. The Fröhlich electron-phonon matrix element is by now well understood in the case of bulk three-dimensional (3D) materials. In the case of two-dimensional (2D) materials, the standard procedure to include Fröhlich coupling is to employ Coulomb truncation, so as to eliminate artificial interactions between periodic images of the 2D layer. While these techniques are well established, the transition of the Fröhlich coupling from three to two dimensions has not been investigated. Furthermore, it remains unclear what error one makes when describing 2D systems using the standard bulk formalism in a periodic supercell geometry. Here, we generalize previous work on the \textit{ab initio} Fröhlich electron-phonon matrix element in bulk materials by investigating the electrostatic potential of atomic dipoles in a periodic supercell consisting of a 2D material and a continuum dielectric slab. We obtain a unified expression for the matrix element, which reduces to the existing formulas for 3D and 2D systems when the interlayer separation tends to zero or infinity, respectively. This new expression enables an accurate description of the Fröhlich matrix element in 2D systems without resorting to Coulomb truncation. We validate our approach by direct \textit{ab initio} density-functional perturbation theory calculations for monolayer BN and MoS$_2$, and we provide a simple expression for the 2D Fröhlich matrix element that can be used in model Hamiltonian approaches. The formalism outlined in this work may find applications in calculations of polarons, quasiparticle renormalization, transport coefficients, and superconductivity, in 2D and quasi-2D materials.
We present a systematic first-principles study of the phonon spectrum of hexagonal YMnO3 in ferroelectric (multiferroic) phase. We investigated in detail the low-energy phonon modes, their dispersion, symmetry, as well as the infrared optical properties of the crystal and determined the phonon density of states.
In polar semiconductors and oxides, the long-range nature of the electron-phonon (\textit{e}-ph) interaction is a bottleneck to compute charge transport from first principles. Here, we develop an efficient ab initio scheme to compute and converge the \textit{e}-ph relaxation times (RTs) and electron mobility in polar materials. We apply our approach to GaAs, where using the Boltzmann equation with state-dependent RTs, we compute mobilities in excellent agreement with experiment at 250$-$500~K. The $e$-ph RTs and the phonon contributions to intravalley and intervalley $e$-ph scattering are also…
We have calculated (ab initio) and measured (by spin-echo techniques) the anharmonic self-energy of phonons at the X-point of the Brillouin zone for isotopically pure germanium. The real part agrees with former, less accurate, high temperature data obtained by inelastic neutron scattering on natural germanium. For the imaginary part our results provide evidence that transverse acoustic phonons at the X-point are very long lived at low temperatures, i.e. their probability of decay approaches zero, as a consequence of an unusual decay mechanism allowed by energy conservation.
Band structure, Fermi surface, and phonon dispersions of noncentrosymmetric B20-type RhGe are calculated ab initio for the first time and their evolution with increasing pressure is investigated. We consider in detail symmetry-conditioned features of the band structure, as well as pressure-induced changes in the Fermi surface topology, which are expected to affect the thermopower of RhGe. We also report on special calculations of electric field gradients on the Rh and Ge nuclei and compare these results with a very recent 111 Cd-TDPAC study of B20-RhGe.
In the spin 1/2 antiferromagnetic Ca2CuO3 the optical excitation along 1D a Cu-O chain showed the enrichment of forbidden peaks that could not be explained by the group theory. We present the cluster-model ab initio study of these optical phonons based on the Hartree-Fock SCF calculation with the 3-21G basic set. The obtained results showed very good agreement with the observed data. The Cu-O resonances generally showed the lower shifts in Ca2CuO3 than in pure CuO and were primarily composed of the vibrations of the oxygen in static host lattice whereas the Cu movements happened only in the co…
Ab Initio Theory of Phonon Magnetic Moment Induced by Electron-Phonon Coupling in Magnetic Materials
National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Physics, Nanjing University（南京大学固体微结构物理学院）；Center for Quantum Transport and Thermal Energy Science, Institute of Physics Frontiers and Interdisciplinary Sciences, School of Physics and Technology, Nanjing Normal University（南京师范大学物理科学与技术学院前沿交叉科学研究院量子输运与热能科学中心）；Department of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology（东京工业大学物理学系）；Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University（南京大学先进微结构协同创新中心）；Jiangsu Physical Science Research Center, Nanjing（江苏物理科学研究中心）
Recently, phonons with chirality (chiral phonons) have attracted significant attention. Chiral phonons exhibit angular and pseudo-angular momenta. In circularly polarized Raman spectroscopy, the peak split of the $Γ_3$ mode is detectable along the principal axis of the chiral crystal in the backscattering configuration. In addition, peak splitting occurs when the pseudo-angular momenta of the incident and scattered circularly polarized light are reversed. Until now, chiral phonons in binary crystals have been observed, whereas those in unary crystals have not been observed. Here, we observe ch…
We study the mutual coupling of spin fluctuations and lattice vibrations in paramagnetic CrN by combining atomistic spin dynamics and ab initio molecular dynamics. The two degrees of freedom are dynamically coupled leading to non-adiabatic effects. Those effects suppress the phonon life times at low temperature compared to an adiabatic approach. The here identified dynamic coupling provides an explanation for the experimentally observed unexpected temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity of magnetic semiconductors above the magnetic ordering temperature.
Spin-phonon coupling is the main drive of spin relaxation and decoherence in solid-state semiconductors at finite temperature. Controlling this interaction is a central problem for many disciplines, ranging from magnetic resonance to quantum technologies. Spin relaxation theories have been developed for almost a century but often employ a phenomenological description of phonons and their coupling to spin, resulting in a non-predictive tool and hindering our detailed understanding of spin dynamics. Here we combine fourth-order time-local quantum master equations with advanced electronic structu…
We present a combined treatment of the non-equilibrium dynamics and transport of electrons and phonons by carrying out \textit{ab initio} calculations of the fully coupled electron and phonon Boltzmann transport equations. We find that the presence of mutual drag between the two carriers causes the thermopower to be enhanced and dominated by the transport of phonons, rather than electrons as in the traditional semiconductor picture. Drag also strongly boosts the intrinsic electron mobility, thermal conductivity and the Lorenz number. Impurity scattering is seen to suppress the drag-enhancement…
This paper gives a short overview of the calculation of thermal properties of materials from first principles, using the Quasi-Harmonic Approximation (QHA). We first introduce some of the thermal properties of interest and describe how they can be calculated in the framework of the QHA; then we briefly recall Density-Functional Perturbation Theory as a tool for calculating phonons from first principles, and present some codes that implement it; finally we review recent applications of first-principle QHA.
Lattice thermal conductivity ($κ_{lat}$) of MgSiO$_3$ postperovskite (MgPPv) under the Earth's lower mantle high pressure-temperature conditions is studied using the phonon quasiparticle approach by combing \textit{ab initio} molecular dynamics and lattice dynamics simulations. Phonon lifetimes are extracted from the phonon quasiparticle calculations, and the phonon group velocities are computed from the anharmonic phonon dispersions, which in principle capture full anharmonicity. It is found that throughout the lowermost mantle, including the D" region, $κ_{lat}$ of MgPPv is ~25% larger than …
In recent years, palladium has proven to be a crucial component for devices ranging from nanotube field effect transistors to advanced hydrogen storage devices. In this work, I examine the phonon dispersion of fcc Pd using first principle calculations based on density functional perturbation theory. While several groups in the past have studied the acoustic properties of palladium, this is the first study to reproduce the phonon dispersion and associated anomaly with high accuracy and no adjustable parameters. In particular, I focus on the Kohn anomaly in the [110] direction.
We have used ab-initio density functional theory technique to understand the phase transitions and structural changes in various high temperature/pressure phases of LiAlO2. The electronic band structure as well as phonon spectra are calculated for various phases as a function of pressure. The phonon entropy used for the calculations of Gibbs free energy is found to play an important role in the phase stability and phase transitions among various phases. A sudden increase in the polyhedral bond lengths (Li/Al-O) signifies the change from the tetrahedral to octahedral geometry at high-pressure p…
We report first principles calculations of the phonon dispersions of PbTe both for its observed structure and under compression. At the experimental lattice parameter we find a near instability of the optic branch at the zone center, in accord with experimental observations.This hardens quickly towards the zone boundary. There is also a very strong volume dependence of this mode, which is rapidly driven away from an instability by compression. These results are discussed inrelation to the thermal conductivity of the material.
The monolayer of black phosphorous, or phosphorene, has recently emerged as a new 2D semiconductor with intriguing highly anisotropic transport properties. Existing calculations of its intrinsic phonon-limited electronic transport properties so far rely on the deformation potential approximation, which is in general not directly applicable to anisotropic materials since the deformation along one specific direction can scatter electrons traveling in all directions. We perform a first-principles calculation of the electron-phonon interaction in phosphorene based on density functional perturbatio…
We present an $\textit{ab initio}$ study of the thermodynamic properties of cubic CaSiO$_3$ perovskite (CaPv) over the pressure and temperature range of the Earth's lower mantle. We compute the anharmonic phonon dispersions throughout the Brillouin zone by utilizing the phonon quasiparticle approach, which characterizes the intrinsic temperature dependence of phonon frequencies and, in principle, captures full anharmonicity. Such temperature-dependent phonon dispersions are used to calculate $\textit{ab initio}$ free energy in the thermodynamic limit ($N \rightarrow \infty$) within the framewo…
We report first principles analysis of electron-phonon coupling in molecular devices under external bias voltage and during current flow. Our theory and computational framework are based carrying out density functional theory within the Keldysh nonequilibrium Green's function formalism. We analyze which molecular vibrational modes are most relevant to charge transport under nonequilibrium conditions. For a molecular tunnel junction of a 1,4-benzenedithiolate molecule contacted by two leads, the low-lying modes of the vibration are found to be most important. As a function of bias voltage, the …
The relation between ab initio molecular dynamics formalism and the electron-phonon interaction formalism [P.B. Allen and V. Heine, J. Phys. C 9, 2305 (1976)] is explored. The fundamental quantity obtained in the AIMD formalism - total energy for any configuration - is also obtained from the formalism (ES-DWF) that incorporates the role of Debye-Waller Factor in electronic structure calculations. The two formalisms are exactly equivalent and represent the direct and perturbation theory approaches to determine total energy. This equivalence allows either formalism to be used depending on the re…
We develop an ab initio formalism for dipolar electron-phonon interactions (EPI) in two-dimensional (2D) materials. Unlike purely longitudinal Fröhlich model, we show that the out-of-plane dipoles also contribute to the long-wavelength non-analytical behavior of EPI. And the 2D dipolar EPI plays an important role not only in the typical polar material MoS$_2$, but also in graphane and fluorinated graphene. By incorporating this formalism into Wannier-Fourier interpolation, we enable accurate EPI calculations for 2D materials and subsequent intrinsic carrier mobility prediction. The results sho…
While the thermoelectric figure of merit zT above 300K has seen significant improvement recently, the progress at lower temperatures has been slow, mainly limited by the relatively low Seebeck coefficient and high thermal conductivity. Here we report, for the first time, success in first-principles computation of the phonon drag effect - a coupling phenomenon between electrons and non-equilibrium phonons - in heavily doped region and its optimization to enhance the Seebeck coefficient while reducing the phonon thermal conductivity by nanostructuring. Our simulation quantitatively identifies th…
Ba2Ti2Fe2As4O is a self-doped superconductor exhibiting a Tc ~ 21.5 K and containing, distinctively with respect to other Fe-based superconductors, not only [Fe2As2] layers but also conducting [Ti2O] sheets. This compound exhibits a transition at T* ~ 125 K which has tentatively been assigned in the literature to a possible density-wave order. However, the nature of this density wave (whether it is a charge- or spin-induced) is still under debate. Magnetism in Ba2Ti2Fe2As4O has never been experimentally confirmed, which raises the question whether this superconductor might be non-magnetic or e…
The phonon spectra of calcium, strontium, barium, radium, cadmium, zinc, magnesium, germanium, tin, and lead titanates with the perovskite structure are calculated from first principles within the density functional theory. By analyzing the unstable modes in the phonon spectra, the possible lattice distortions are determined and the energies of the corresponding phases are calculated. From analyzing the phonon spectra, force constants, and eigenvectors of TO phonons, a conclusion is drawn on the origin of the ferroelectricity in considered crystals. It is shown that the main factors determinin…
The calculations of thermal conductivity requires to know anharmonic properties of the crystal. For this purpose a non-perturbative anharmonic theory is applied, which do not make use of the potential energy expansion over atomic displacements, but instead, runs ab initio calculations of Hellmann-Feynman forces for atomic patterns of atoms with specific displacements to rebuild the anharmonic phonon frequencies, and group velocities. see [K.Parlinski, Phys.Rev. B 98, 054305 (2018),] The Green-Kubo equation for the thermal conductivity needs to know the above quantities and the phonon relaxatio…
Ab initio calculations and a direct method have been applied to derive the phonon dispersion curves and phonon density of states for the TiC crystal. The results are compared and found to be in a good agreement with the experimental neutron scattering data. The force constants have been determined from the Hellmann-Feynman forces induced by atomic displacements in the 2x2x2 supercell. The calculated phonon density of states suggests that vibrations of Ti atoms form acoustic branches, whereas the motion of C atoms is confined to optic branches. The elastic constants have been found using the de…
Near-forward Raman scattering combined with ab initio phonon and bond length calculations is used to study the phonon-polariton transverse optical modes (with mixed electrical and mechanical character) of the II-VI ZnSeS mixed crystal under pressure. The goal of the study is to determine the pressure dependence of the poorly resolved percolation-type Zn-S Raman doublet of the three oscillator [1(Zn-Se),2(Zn-S)] ZnSe68S32 mixed crystal, which exhibits a phase transition at approximately the same pressure as its two end compounds (~14 GPa, zincblende-to-rocksalt), as determined by high-pressure …
The phonon dispersion curves of cubic BaTiO_3 have been computed within a first-principles approach and the results compared to the experimental data. The curves obtained are very similar to those reported for KNbO_3 by Yu and Krakauer [Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 4067 (1995)]. They reveal that correlated atomic displacements along <100> chains are at the origin of the ferroelectric instability. A simplified model illustrates that spontaneous collective displacements will occur when a dozen of aligned atoms are coupled. The longitudinal interatomic force constant between nearest neighbour Ti and O at…
We present a new interpretation of measured Raman frequencies of a high-pressure structure of Silicon which was assigned previously to the beta-tin phase. Our results show that the beta-tin->Imma->sh phase transitions have been already indicated in this experiment which was performed before the discovery of the Imma phase. We have calculated phonon-dispersion curves for the beta-tin, Imma, and sh phases of silicon using the plane-wave pseudopotential approach to the density-functional theory and the density-functional perturbation theory within the local density approximation. With the new ass…
The four A1-TO Gamma phonon frequencies in lithium tantalate are calculated in the frozen-phonon approach from first principles using the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave method. A good agreement with the experimental data available is found for all modes; reliable displacement pattern of different modes becomes available from the calculated eigenvectors. The Raman spectra recorded for A1 modes in LiNbO3 exhibit a counter-intuitive softening of the A1-TO3 mode frequency with respect to that measured in LiTaO3. We explain this behaviour by a comparatively harder oxygen rotation in…
The first order standard perturbation theory combined with ab initio projector augmented wave operator challenges the realization of the standard Sternheimer equation with linear computational efficiency. This efficiency motivates us to describe the electron-phonon interaction in two-dimensional (2D) black phosphorous monolayer using generalized density functional perturbation theory (DFPT) with Boltzmann transport theory (BTE). Subsequently, linear response phonon dynamic behaviour in terms of conductivities, seebeck coefficients and transport properties are focused for its thermoelectric app…
We report inelastic neutron scattering measurements of phonon spectra in the parent superconductor iron-tuned chalcogenide Fe$_{1+x}$Te, for two different x contents (x $\leq$ 0.11), using neutron time-of-flight technique. Thermal neutron spectroscopy allowed to collect the low-temperature Stokes spectra over an extended Q-range, at 2, 40 and 120K - hence covering both the magnetic monoclinic and the paramagnetic tetragonal phases. Whereas cold-neutrons allowed to measure high-resolution anti-Stokes spectra at 140, 220 and 300K, thus covering the tetragonal phase. Our results evidence a spin-p…
Raman spectra obtained by the inelastic scattering of light by crystalline solids contain contributions from first-order vibrational processes (e.g. the emission or absorption of one phonon, a quantum of vibration) as well as higher-order processes with at least two phonons being involved. At second order, coupling with the entire phonon spectrum induces a response that may strongly depend on the excitation energy, and reflects complex processes more difficult to interpret. In particular, excitons (i.e. bound electron-hole pairs) may enhance the absorption and emission of light, and couple str…
We formulate a first-principle scheme for structural optimization at finite temperature ($T$) based on the self-consistent phonon (SCP) theory, which accurately takes into account the effect of strong phonon anharmonicity. The $T$-dependence of the shape of the unit cell and internal atomic configuration is determined by minimizing the variational free energy in the SCP theory. At each optimization step, the interatomic force constants in the new structure are calculated without running additional electronic structure calculations, which makes the method dramatically efficient. We demonstrate …
The carrier dynamics in bulk Silicon, a paradigmatic indirect gap semiconductor, is studied by using the Baym-Kadanoff equations. Both the electron--electron(e-e) and electron--phonon(e-p) self--energies are calculated fully ab-initio by using a semi-static GW approximation in the e-e case and a Fan self-energy in the e-p case. By using the generalized Baym-Kadanoff ansatz the two-time evolution is replaced by the only dynamics on the macroscopic time axis. The enormous numerical difficulties connected with a real-time simulation of realistic systems is overcame by using a completed collision …
We report ab initio calculations of the electronic band structure, the corresponding optical spectra, and the phonon dispersion relations of trigonal alpha-HgS (cinnabar). The calculated dielectric functions are compared with unpublished optical measurements by Zallen and coworkers. The phonon dispersion relations are used to calculate the temperature and isotopic mass dependence of the specific heat which has been compared with experimental data obtained on samples with the natural isotope abundances of the elements Hg and S (natural minerals and vapor phase grown samples) and on samples prep…
Knowledge of lattice anharmonicity is essential to elucidate distinctive thermal properties in crystalline solids. Yet, accurate \textit{ab initio} investigations of lattice anharmonicity encounter difficulties owing to the cumbersome computations. Here we introduce the phonon quasiparticle approach and review its application to various materials. This method efficiently and reliably addresses lattice anharmonicity by combining \textit{ab initio} molecular dynamics and lattice dynamics calculations. Thus, in principle, it accounts for full anharmonic effects and overcomes finite-size effects t…
In this work, we present our theoretical results for the equation of state and the phonon dispersions of MnAs, as well as the Mn concentration dependence of both the lattice parameter and the phonon frequencies of the cubic GaMnAs alloys. The results are in good agreement with the experimental results whenever this comparison is possible. Based on the obtained results, the lattice constants and the phonon frequencies of the alloys do not obey the Vegard rule.
We present a new first-principles linear-response theory of changes due to perturbations in the quasiparticle self-energy operator within the $GW$ method. This approach, named $GW$ perturbation theory ($GW$PT), is applied to calculate the electron-phonon ($e$-ph) interactions with the full inclusion of the $GW$ non-local, energy-dependent self-energy effects, going beyond density-functional perturbation theory. Avoiding limitations of the frozen-phonon technique, $GW$PT gives access to $e$-ph matrix elements at the $GW$ level for all phonons and scattering processes, and the computational cost…
The phonon renormalization across the semiconductor-to-metal crossover in FeSi is investigated by inelastic neutron scattering combined with \textit{ab-initio} lattice dynamical calculations. A significant part of reciprocal space with a particular focus on the 110$-$001 scattering plane is mapped by the time-of-flight inelastic neutron scattering data taken below and above the crossover. Individual momentum values are investigated in more detail as a function of temperature. The data reveal that the anomalous phonon softening upon metallization is not exclusive to the high symmetry $R$ and $Γ…
Ab initio calculations and a direct method are applied to derive the phonon dispersion relations and phonon density of states for the ZrC crystal. The results are in good agreement with neutron scattering data. The force constants are determined from the Hellmann-Feynman forces induced by atomic displacements in a 2x2x2 supercell. The elastic constants are found using the deformation method and successfully compare with experimental data.
We report first principles density functional studies using plane wave basis sets and pseudopotentials and all electron linear augmented plane wave (LAPW) of the relative stability of various ferroelectric and antiferroelectric supercells of PMN for 1:2 chemical ordering along [111] and [001]. We used linear response with density functional perturbation theory (DFPT) as implemented in the code ABINIT to compute the Born effective charges, electronic dielectric tensors, long wavelength phonon frequencies and LO-TO splittings. The polar response is different for supercells ordered along [111] an…
The interaction between electrons and lattice vibrations determines key physical properties of materials, including their electrical and heat transport, excited electron dynamics, phase transitions, and superconductivity. We present a new ab initio method that employs atomic orbital (AO) wavefunctions to compute the electron-phonon (e-ph) interactions in materials and interpolate the e-ph coupling matrix elements to fine Brillouin zone grids. We detail the numerical implementation of such AO-based e-ph calculations, and benchmark them against direct density functional theory calculations and W…
Elemental 2D materials exhibit intriguing heat transport and phononic properties. Here we have investigated the lattice thermal conductivity of newly proposed arsenene, the 2D honeycomb structure of arsenic, using {\it ab initio} calculations. Solving the Boltzmann transport equation for phonons, we predict a highly anisotropic thermal conductivity, of $30.4$ and $7.8$ W/mK along the zigzag and armchair directions, respectively at room temperature. Our calculations reveal that phonons with mean free paths between $20$ nm and $1$ $μ$m provide the main contribution to the large thermal conductiv…
Zn(CN)2 and Ni(CN)2 are known for exhibiting anomalous thermal expansion over a wide temperature range. The volume thermal expansion coefficient for the cubic, three dimensionally connected material, Zn(CN)2, is negative (αV = -51 x 10-6 K-1) while for Ni(CN)2, a tetragonal material, the thermal expansion coefficient is negative in the two dimensionally connected sheets (αa=-7 x 10-6 K-1), but the overall thermal expansion coefficient is positive (αV=48 x 10-6 K-1). We have measured the temperature dependence of phonon spectra in these compounds and analyzed them using ab-initio calculations. …
The thermal expansion behavior of metal fluorides can be tuned by choosing appropriate metal cation. We present ab-initio lattice dynamical studies on the metal fluorides (CaZrF6, MgZrF6 and SrZrF6) and identify the anharmonic phonon modes responsible for the negative thermal expansion in these materials. These phonons involve ZrF6 polyhedral rotational motion, which leads to large transverse amplitude of the vibrations of the fluorine atom in the Zr-F-Zr bond. The compounds with larger anisotropy in the thermal amplitude of the fluorine atoms show larger NTE behaviour. This has enabled to und…
We have performed an ab initio study of the thermodynamical properties of rare-earth-magnesium intermetallic compounds MgRE (RE=Y, Dy, Pr, Tb) with CsCl-type B2-type structures. The calculations have been carried out the density functional theory and density functional perturbation theory in combination with the quasiharmonic approximation. The phonon-dispersion curves and phonon total and partial density of states have been investigated. Our results show that the contribution of RE atoms is dominant in phonon frequency, and this character agrees with the previous discussion by using atomistic…
Molecular motion at metallic surfaces is affected by nonadiabatic effects and electron-phonon coupling. The ensuing energy dissipation and dynamical steering effects are not captured by classical molecular dynamics simulations, but can be described with the molecular dynamics with electronic friction method and linear response calculations based on density functional theory. Herein, we present an implementation of electron-phonon response based on an all-electron numeric atomic orbital description in the electronic structure code FHI-aims. After providing details of the underlying approximatio…
We report on the phonon dynamics of LiYF4 obtained by direct method using first principle calculations. The agreement between experimental and calculated modes is satisfactory. An inversion between two Raman active modes is noticed compared to inelastic neutron scattering and Raman measurements. The atomic displacements corresponding to these modes are discussed. Multiple inversions between Raman and infrared active groups are present above 360 cm-1. The total and partial phonon density of state is also calculated and analyzed.
EPW is an open-source software for $\textit{ab initio}$ calculations of electron-phonon interactions and related materials properties. The code combines density functional perturbation theory and maximally-localized Wannier functions to efficiently compute electron-phonon coupling matrix elements on ultra-fine Brillouin zone grids. This data is employed for predictive calculations of temperature-dependent properties and phonon-assisted quantum processes in bulk solids and low-dimensional materials. Here, we report on significant new developments in the code that occurred during the period 2016…
The magnetization distribution, its energetic characterization by the interlayer coupling constants and lattice dynamics of (001)-oriented Fe/Pt multilayers are investigated using density functional theory combined with the direct method to determine phonon frequencies. It is found that ferromagnetic order between consecutive Fe layers is favoured, with the enhanced magnetic moments at the interface. The bilinear and biquadratic coupling coefficients between Fe layers are shown to saturate fast with increasing thickness of nonmagnetic Pt layers which separate them. The phonon calculations demo…
We develop a method for calculating the electron-phonon vertex in polar semiconductors and insulators from first principles. The present formalism generalizes the Fröhlich vertex to the case of anisotropic materials and multiple phonon branches, and can be used either as a post-processing correction to standard electron-phonon calculations, or in conjunction with {\it ab initio} interpolation based on maximally localized Wannier functions. We demonstrate this formalism by investigating the electron-phonon interactions in anatase TiO$_2$, and show that the polar vertex significantly reduces the…
We investigate the spin-nonconserving relaxation channel of excitons by their couplings with phonons in two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides using $\textit{ab initio}$ approaches. Combining $\text{GW}$-Bethe-Salpeter equation method and density functional perturbation theory, we calculate the electron-phonon and exciton-phonon coupling matrix elements for the spin-flip scattering in monolayer WSe$_{\text{2}}$, and further analyze the microscopic mechanisms influencing these scattering strengths. We find that phonons could produce effective in-plane magnetic fields which flip spin o…
We develop a theoretical and computational framework to study polarons in semiconductors and insulators from first principles. Our approach provides the formation energy, excitation energy, and wavefunction of both electron and hole polarons, and takes into account the coupling of the electron or hole to all phonons. An important feature of the present method is that it does not require supercell calculations, and relies exclusively on electron band structures, phonon dispersions, and electron-phonon matrix elements obtained from calculations in the crystal unit cell. Starting from the Kohn-Sh…
The electron temperature dependent electron density of states, Fermi-Dirac distribution, and electron-phonon spectral function are computed as prerequisites before achieving effective electron-phonon coupling factor. The obtained coupling factor is implemented into a molecular dynamics (MD) and two-temperature model (TTM) coupled simulation of femtosecond laser heating. By monitoring temperature evolutions of electron and lattice subsystems, the result utilizing coupling factor from ab initio calculation, shows a faster decrease of electron temperature and increase of lattice temperature than …
