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At least 1,153 records · Page 64

Visualization of atomic-scale phenomena in superconductors: application to FeSe

Here we propose a simple method of calculating inhomogeneous, atomic-scale phenomena in superconductors which makes use of the wave function information traditionally discarded in the construction of tight-binding models used in the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations. The method uses symmetry- based first principles Wannier functions to visualize the effects of superconducting pairing on the distribution of electronic states over atoms within a crystal unit cell. Local symmetries lower than the global lattice symmetry can thus be exhibited as well, rendering theoretical comparisons with scanning tunneling spectroscopy data much more useful. As a simple example, we discuss the geometric dimer states observed near defects in superconducting FeSe.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Deformed Fredkin model for the ν = 5 / 2 Moore-Read state on thin cylinders

We propose a frustration-free model for the Moore-Read quantum Hall state on sufficiently thin cylinders with circumferences ≲ 7 magnetic lengths. While the Moore-Read Hamiltonian involves complicated long-range interactions between triplets of electrons in a Landau level, our effective model is a simpler one-dimensional chain of qubits with deformed Fredkin gates. We show that the ground state of the Fredkin model has high overlap with the Moore-Read wave function and accurately reproduces the latter's entanglement properties. Moreover, we demonstrate that the model captures the dynamical response of the Moore-Read state to a geometric quench, induced by suddenly changing the anisotropy of the system. We elucidate the underlying mechanism of the quench dynamics and show that it coincides with the linearized bimetric field theory. The minimal model introduced here can be directly implemented as a first step towards quantum simulation of the Moore-Read state, as we demonstrate by deriving an efficient circuit approximation to the ground state and implementing it on an IBM quantum processor. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Generation of Terahertz Waves under Laser Action on Hot Dense Plasma

Generation of terahertz waves by hot dense plasma under the action of a femtosecond laser pulse in the regime of anomalous skin effect is considered. The spectral, angular, and energy characteristics of terahertz waves are studied as functions of the plasma and laser parameters. It is shown that, under the conditions of anomalous skin effect, which takes place in ultradense hot plasma, the total energy of the terahertz signal is independent of the electron density, proportional to the square of the electron temperature, and maximal at tight focusing of the laser pulse.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Runaway electrons in tokamaks

The generation of runaway electrons is a complex and important phenomenon that impacts many areas of plasma physics. Due to the decrease of electron collision frequency with increasing velocity, electrons under strong electric field can experience unlimited “runaway” acceleration. In tokamaks, runaway electrons can be produced in disruptions, due to the strong inductive electric field formed as the thermal energy of plasma gets rapidly lost. This population of runaway electrons can undergo an exponential growth, denoted the runaway electron avalanche, due to hard collisions between relativistic runaway electrons and low energy electrons. It is predicted that in a large tokamak device like the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), a runway electron beam generated in a disruption event can potentially cause severe damage to the device, which poses a significant challenge for ITER to achieve its mission. It is therefore extremely important to seek an effective mitigation mechanism for runaway electrons. Experimental efforts have been made to study the properties of runaway electrons in tokamaks, including their generation, diffusion, and radiation. In order to understand these experimental results, extensive theoretical and simulation studies of runaway electron physics are required. The main topic of this thesis is to study the wave particle interaction associated with runaway electron beams in tokamaks. The runaway electrons can emit and absorb electromagnetic waves through resonances, and can be diffused in momentum space by the waves. Initially, we address the Cherenkov radiation of runaway electrons, which originates from the polarization of the plasma medium. The energy and momentum loss of the Cherenkov radiation can be modeled by adding a correction to the Coulomb logarithm in the collisional drag force. Subsequently, we address pitch angle scattering caused by normal modes in the plasma, which are driven unstable by the anisotropicity of the runaway electron beam. The fluctuating electromagnetic fields are found to act as a seed for the unstable normal modes. Numerical simulations show that the pitch angle scattering effect from the normal modes, mainly whistler waves, can be significantly larger than that from collisional pitch angle scattering. Finally, we present a synthetic diagnostic tool we developed to calculate the electron cyclotron emission (ECE) from the runaway electrons, and successfully reproduce the prompt growth of the ECE signal observed in DIII-D quiescent runaway electron (QRE) experiments. Within the thesis, we also present the application of the adjoint method to runaway electron research, and show the calculations of the runaway probability function (RPF) and the expected loss time (ELT). These calculations not only help depict the dynamics of runaway electrons in momentum space, but also can be used to efficiently calculate experimentally relevant quantities such as the critical electric field for runaway electron avalanche and the avalanche growth rate.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Quantum beats in two-color photoionization to the spin-orbit split continuum of Ar

We report a study of the quantum beats in two-color photoionization of argon. An attosecond extreme ultraviolet pulse train prepares an electronic wave packet of definite odd parity, with total angular momentum J = 1, targeting the states between 14.0 and 14.5 eV from the ground state. Two-photon ionization of this wave packet with a tunable infrared probe pulse makes the constituent states interfere in both continuum channels, corresponding to the core angular momenta j c = 1/2 and 3/2, respectively. We analyze photoelectron spectrograms as a function of the time delay of the probe pulse and identify oscillations due to several pairs of states through Fourier decomposition. We observe phase differences between the corresponding beat signals in the two spin-orbit split continua. Comparison of theoretical simulations with the experimental measurements allows us to interpret the amplitudes and phases of ionization signals. Furthermore, we express the observed phase differences in terms of the off-diagonal elements of the short-range scattering matrix and the dipole matrix elements to the continuum eigenchannels.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

An Ab Initio Multiple Cloning Method for Non-Adiabatic Excited-State Molecular Dynamics in NWChem

The recently developed ab-initio multiple cloning (AIMC) approach based on the multicongurational Ehrenfest (MCE) method provides a powerful and accurate way of describing the excited-state dynamics of molecular systems. The AIMC method is a controlled approximation to non-adiabatic dynamics with a particular strength in the proper description of decoherence effects due to branching of vibrational wavepackets at a level crossing. In this work, we report a new implementation of the AIMC algorithm in the open source NWChem computational chemistry program. The framework combines linear-response time-dependent density functional theory with Ehrenfest mean-eld theory to determine the equations of motion for classical trajectories. The multi-dimensional wave function is decomposed into a superposition of Gaussian coherent states guided by Ehrenfest trajectories (i.e., MCE approach), which can clone with fully quantum mechanical amplitudes and phases. By using an efficient time-derivative based non-adiabatic coupling approach within the AIMC method, all observable are calculated on-the-y in the non-adiabatic molecular dynamics process. As a representative example, we apply our implementation to study the ultrafast photoinduced electronic and vibrational energy transfer in a pyridine molecule. The effects of the cloning procedure on electronic and vibrational coherence, relaxation and unidirectional energy transfer are discussed. This new AIMC implementation provides a high-level non-adiabatic molecular dynamics framework for simulating photoexcited dynamics in complex molecular systems and experimentally relevant ultrafast spectroscopic probes, such as nonlinear coherent optical and X-ray signals.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

KSSOLV 2.0: An efficient MATLAB toolbox for solving the Kohn-Sham equations with plane-wave basis set

KSSOLV (Kohn-Sham Solver) is a MATLAB toolbox for performing Kohn-Sham density functional theory (DFT) calculations with a plane-wave basis set. KSSOLV 2.0 preserves the design features of the original KSSOLV software to allow users and developers to easily set up a problem and perform ground-state calculations as well as to prototype and test new algorithms. Furthermore, it includes new functionalities such as new iterative diagonalization algorithms, k-point sampling for electron band structures, geometry optimization and advanced algorithms for performing DFT calculations with local, semi-local, and hybrid exchange-correlation functionals. It can be used to study the electronic structures of both molecules and solids. So, we describe these new capabilities in this work through a few use cases. We also demonstrate the numerical accuracy and computational efficiency of KSSOLV on a variety of examples.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Particle-hole mirror symmetries around the half-filled shell: Quantum numbers and algebraic structure of composite fermions

Composite fermions (CFs) of the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) are described as spherical products of electron and vortex spinors, built from underlying 𝐿=1/2 ladder operators aligned so that the spinor angular momenta, 𝐿 𝑒 and 𝐿 𝑣 , are maximal. We identify the CF's quantum numbers as the angular momentum 𝐿 in (𝐿𝑒⁢𝐿𝑣)⁢𝐿, its magnetic projection 𝑚𝐿, the electron number 𝑁 [𝐿 𝑣 =(𝑁−1)/2], and magnetic 𝜈 spin, 𝑚 𝜈 = 𝐿 𝑒 −𝐿 𝑣 . Translationally invariant FQHE states are formed by fully filling 𝑝 subshells with their respective CFs, in order of ascending 𝐿 for fixed 𝐿 𝑒 and 𝐿 𝑣 , beginning with the lowest allowed value, 𝐿=|⁢𝑚 𝜈 |. CF subshells are contained entirely within the first Landau level (FLL). Alternatively, we provide an equivalent hierarchical wave function in which the underlying objects are vortices with 𝐿 𝑣 = $\frac{p}{2}$, correlated. Here, we show that CFs can be written as a valence operator carrying the angular momentum quantum numbers 𝐿, 𝑚 𝜈 , 𝑚 𝐿 acting on a scalar half-filled intrinsic state.

2-dimensional systems↗

Electronic and magnetic properties of hole-doped topological kagome Fe 1−𝑥 ⁢Mn 𝑥 ⁢Sn thin films

We have investigated the electronic and magnetic structures of topological kagome Fe 1−𝑥 ⁢Mn 𝑥 ⁢Sn (0 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 0.3) thin films via neutron diffraction, electronic transport measurements, and ab initio density functional theory (DFT) to understand the interplay between hole doping, magnetism, and the electronic structures. Temperature-dependent neutron diffraction measurements on parent FeSn reveal the Néel temperature to be 𝑇 N ∼ 355 K and the underlying A-type antiferromagnetic ordering is associated with a wave vector 𝒒 = (001/2). Upon Mn doping to 𝑥 = 0.15, 𝑇 N decreases slightly while the magnetic ordering vector remains the same. Resistivity measurements show metallic characteristics and in-plane anisotropy down to 10 K for all the investigated samples. The effects of hole doping are mapped in terms of electronic ground state calculations via DFT which show that the Dirac point is moved closer to the Fermi level (𝐸 F ) and the flat bands get pushed away from 𝐸 F upon hole doping. However, a comparison between hole-doped Fe 1−𝑥⁢ Mn 𝑥⁢ Sn and electron-doped Fe 1−𝑥 ⁢Co 𝑥 ⁢Sn indicates that the Néel temperature does not scale with the position of 𝐸 F relative to the flat band. Furthermore, our results establish the antiferromagnetic state of FeSn and Fe 1−𝑥 ⁢Mn 𝑥⁢ Sn films at room temperature, laying the groundwork for future studies of magnetism in kagome heterostructures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Consistent structures and interactions by density functional theory with small atomic orbital basis sets

A density functional theory (DFT) based composite electronic structure approach is proposed to efficiently compute structures and interaction energies in large chemical systems. It is based on the well-known and numerically robust Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhoff (PBE) generalized-gradient-approximation in a modified global hybrid functional with a relatively large amount of non-local Fock-exchange. The orbitals are expanded in Ahlrichs-type valence-double zeta atomic orbital (AO) Gaussian basis sets, which are available for many elements. In order to correct for the basis set superposition error (BSSE) and to account for the important long-range London dispersion effects, our well-established atom-pairwise potentials are used. In the design of the new method, particular attention has been paid to an accurate description of structural parameters in various covalent and non-covalent bonding situations as well as in periodic systems. Together with the recently proposed three-fold corrected (3c) Hartree-Fock method, the new composite scheme (termed PBEh-3c) represents the next member in a hierarchy of “low-cost” electronic structure approaches. They are mainly free of BSSE and account for most interactions in a physically sound and asymptotically correct manner. PBEh-3c yields good results for thermochemical properties in the huge GMTKN30 energy database. Furthermore, the method shows excellent performance for non-covalent interaction energies in small and large complexes. For evaluating its performance on equilibrium structures, a new compilation of standard test sets is suggested. These consist of small (light) molecules, partially flexible, medium-sized organic molecules, molecules comprising heavy main group elements, larger systems with long bonds, 3d-transition metal systems, non-covalently bound complexes (S22 and S66×8 sets), and peptide conformations. For these sets, overall deviations from accurate reference data are smaller than for various other tested DFT methods and reach that of triple-zeta AO basis set second-order perturbation theory (MP2/TZ) level at a tiny fraction of computational effort. Periodic calculations conducted for molecular crystals to test structures (including cell volumes) and sublimation enthalpies indicate very good accuracy competitive to computationally more involved plane-wave based calculations. PBEh-3c can be applied routinely to several hundreds of atoms on a single processor and it is suggested as a robust “high-speed” computational tool in theoretical chemistry and physics.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

First-Principle Calculations of Structural, Elastic, and Electronic Properties of Intermetallic Rare Earth R{sub 2}Ni{sub 2}Pb (R = Ho, Lu, and Sm) Compounds

The structural, elastic, and electronic properties of rare earth intermetallic R{sub 2}Ni{sub 2}Pb (where R = Ho, Lu, and Sm) compounds were investigated with the density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The calculations are performed using the full potential-linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method within the framework of local density approximation (LDA). The calculated values of the equilibrium lattice constants were in agreement with the available experimental values. The elastic constants (C{sub ij}) were also calculated to understand the mechanical properties and structural stability of the compounds. Furthermore, the density of states and the charge density distributions of the compounds were calculated to understand the nature of the bonding in the material. The calculated results are in accordance with the available data in the literature.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Electronic bands and excited states of III-V semiconductor polytypes with screened-exchange density functional calculations

The electronic band structures and excited states of III-V semiconductors such as GaP, AlP, AlAs, and AlSb for various polytypes are determined employing the screened-exchange density functional calculations implemented in the full-potential linearized augmented plane-wave methods. We demonstrate that GaP and AlSb in the wurtzite (WZ) structure have direct gap while III-V semiconductors in the zinc blende, 4H, and 6H structures considered in this study exhibit an indirect gap. Furthermore, we find that inclusion of Al atoms less than 17% and 83% in the hexagonal Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1−x}P and Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1−x}As alloys, respectively, leads to a direct transition with a gap energy of ∼2.3 eV. The feasibility of III-V semiconductors with a direct gap in WZ structure offers a possible crystal structure engineering to tune the optical properties of semiconductor materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

In search of the X{sub 2}BO and X{sub 2}BS (X = H, F) free radicals: Ab initio studies of their spectroscopic signatures

The F{sub 2}BO free radical is a known, although little studied, species but similar X{sub 2}BY (X = H, D, F; Y = O, S) molecules are largely unknown. High level ab initio methods have been used to predict the molecular structures, vibrational frequencies (in cm{sup −1}), and relative energies of the ground and first two excited electronic states of these free radicals, as an aid to their eventual spectroscopic identification. The chosen theoretical methods and basis sets were tested on F{sub 2}BO and found to give good agreement with the known experimental quantities. In particular, complete basis set extrapolations of coupled-cluster single and doubles with perturbative triple excitations/aug-cc-pVXZ (X = 3, 4, 5) energies gave excellent electronic term values, due to small changes in geometry between states and the lack of significant multireference character in the wavefunctions. The radicals are found to have planar C{sub 2v} geometries in the X{sup ~2}B{sub 2} ground state, the low-lying A{sup ~2}B{sub 1} first excited state, and the higher B{sup ~2}A{sub 1} state. Some of these radicals have very small ground state dipole moments hindering microwave measurements. Infrared studies in matrices or in the gas phase may be possible although the fundamentals of H{sub 2}BO and H{sub 2}BS are quite weak. The most promising method of identifying these species in the gas phase appears to be absorption or laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy through the allowed B{sup ~}-X{sup ~} transitions which occur in the visible-near UV region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The ab initio results have been used to calculate the Franck-Condon profiles of the absorption and emission spectra, and the rotational structure of the B{sup ~}-X{sup ~}0{sub 0}{sup 0} bands has been simulated. The calculated single vibronic level emission spectra provide a unique, readily recognizable fingerprint of each particular radical, facilitating the experimental identification of new X{sub 2}BY species in the gas phase.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Inter-ribbon tunneling in graphene: An atomistic Bardeen approach

A weakly coupled system of two crossed graphene nanoribbons exhibits direct tunneling due to the overlap of the wavefunctions of both ribbons. We apply the Bardeen transfer Hamiltonian formalism, using atomistic band structure calculations to account for the effect of the atomic structure on the tunneling process. The strong quantum-size confinement of the nanoribbons is mirrored by the one-dimensional character of the electronic structure, resulting in properties that differ significantly from the case of inter-layer tunneling, where tunneling occurs between bulk two-dimensional graphene sheets. The current-voltage characteristics of the inter-ribbon tunneling structures exhibit resonance, as well as stepwise increases in current. Both features are caused by the energetic alignment of one-dimensional peaks in the density-of-states of the ribbons. Resonant tunneling occurs if the sign of the curvature of the coupled energy bands is equal, whereas a step-like increase in the current occurs if the signs are opposite. Changing the doping modulates the onset-voltage of the effects as well as their magnitude. Doping through electrostatic gating makes these structures promising for application towards steep slope switching devices. Using the atomistic empirical pseudopotentials based Bardeen transfer Hamiltonian method, inter-ribbon tunneling can be studied for the whole range of two-dimensional materials, such as transition metal dichalcogenides. The effects of resonance and of step-like increases in the current we observe in graphene ribbons are also expected in ribbons made from these alternative two-dimensional materials, because these effects are manifestations of the one-dimensional character of the density-of-states.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

A new generation of effective core potentials for correlated calculations

Here, we outline ideas on desired properties for a new generation of effective core potentials (ECPs) that will allow valence-only calculations to reach the full potential offered by recent advances in many-body wave function methods. The key improvements include consistent use of correlated methods throughout ECP constructions and improved transferability as required for an accurate description of molecular systems over a range of geometries. The guiding principle is the isospectrality of all-electron and ECP Hamiltonians for a subset of valence states. We illustrate these concepts on a few first- and second-row atoms (B, C, N, O, S), and we obtain higher accuracy in transferability than previous constructions while using semi-local ECPs with a small number of parameters. In addition, the constructed ECPs enable many-body calculations of valence properties with higher (or same) accuracy than their all-electron counterparts with uncorrelated cores. This implies that the ECPs include also some of the impacts of core-core and core-valence correlations on valence properties. The results open further prospects for ECP improvements and refinements.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

A light weight regularization for wave function parameter gradients in quantum Monte Carlo

The parameter derivative of the expectation value of the energy, ∂E/∂p, is a key ingredient in variational Monte Carlo (VMC) wave function optimization methods. In some cases, a naïve estimate of this derivative suffers from an infinite variance, which inhibits the efficiency of optimization methods that rely on a stable estimate of the derivative. In this work, we derive a simple regularization of the naïve estimator, which is trivial to implement in existing VMC codes, has finite variance, and a negligible bias, which can be extrapolated to zero bias with no extra cost. We use this estimator to construct an unbiased, finite variance estimation of ∂E/∂p for a multi-Slater–Jastrow trial wave function on the LiH molecule and in the optimization of a multi-Slater–Jastrow trial wave function on the CuO molecule. This regularized estimator is a simple and efficient estimator of ∂E/∂p for VMC optimization techniques.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

REVISED BIG BANG NUCLEOSYNTHESIS WITH LONG-LIVED, NEGATIVELY CHARGED MASSIVE PARTICLES: UPDATED RECOMBINATION RATES, PRIMORDIAL {sup 9}Be NUCLEOSYNTHESIS, AND IMPACT OF NEW {sup 6}Li LIMITS

We extensively reanalyze the effects of a long-lived, negatively charged massive particle, X {sup –}, on big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). The BBN model with an X {sup –} particle was originally motivated by the discrepancy between the {sup 6,} {sup 7}Li abundances predicted in the standard BBN model and those inferred from observations of metal-poor stars. In this model, {sup 7}Be is destroyed via the recombination with an X {sup –} particle followed by radiative proton capture. We calculate precise rates for the radiative recombinations of {sup 7}Be, {sup 7}Li, {sup 9}Be, and {sup 4}He with X {sup –}. In nonresonant rates, we take into account respective partial waves of scattering states and respective bound states. The finite sizes of nuclear charge distributions cause deviations in wave functions from those of point-charge nuclei. For a heavy X {sup –} mass, m{sub X} ≳ 100 GeV, the d-wave → 2P transition is most important for {sup 7}Li and {sup 7,} {sup 9}Be, unlike recombination with electrons. Our new nonresonant rate of the {sup 7}Be recombination for m{sub X} = 1000 GeV is more than six times larger than the existing rate. Moreover, we suggest a new important reaction for {sup 9}Be production: the recombination of {sup 7}Li and X {sup –} followed by deuteron capture. We derive binding energies of X nuclei along with reaction rates and Q values. We then calculate BBN and find that the amount of {sup 7}Be destruction depends significantly on the charge distribution of {sup 7}Be. Finally, updated constraints on the initial abundance and the lifetime of the X {sup –} are derived in the context of revised upper limits to the primordial {sup 6}Li abundance. Parameter regions for the solution to the {sup 7}Li problem and the primordial {sup 9}Be abundances are revised.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Non-neutral plasma diode in the presence of a transverse magnetic field

An analytical study of the plasma states in non-neutral plasma diodes in the presence of an external transverse magnetic field is presented for an arbitrary neutralization parameter γ. Considerations are restricted to the regime where no electrons are turned around by the magnetic field. The emitter electric field strength E{sub 0} is used as a characteristic function to investigate the existence of solutions depending on the diode length, the applied voltage, the neutralization parameter, and the magnetic field strength. The potential distribution has a wave form for small magnitudes of the external magnetic field, as well as for the case when magnetic field is absent. A new family of solutions appears along with the Bursian ones. On the other hand, as the Larmor radius becomes comparable with the beam Debye length, oscillations in the potential disappear, and only the Bursian branches remain. Unlike the vacuum diode, there are steady state solutions for the negative values of the emitter field strength. As the neutralization parameter (γ) increases, the emitter field strength relating to the SCL (space charge limit) bifurcation point diminishes, and at γ > 1, the value of the emitter's electric field strength at the space charge limit (E{sub 0,SCL}) turns out to be negative.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗