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We developed and implemented a first-principles based theory of the Landauer ballistic conductance, to determine the transport properties of nanostructures and molecular-electronics devices. Our approach starts from a quantum-mechanical description of the electronic structure of the system under consideration, performed at the density-functional theory level and using finite-temperature molecular dynamics simulations to obtain an ensemble of the most likely microscopic configurations. The extended Bloch states are then converted into maximally-localized Wannier functions to allow us to construct the Green’s function of the conductor, from which we obtain the density of states (confirming the reliability of our microscopic calculations) and the Landauer conductance. A first application is presented to the case of carbon nanotubes. / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)

We determined the Landauer ballistic conductance of pristine nanotubes at finite temperature via a novel scheme that combines ab-initio molecular dynamics, maximally-localized Wannier functions, and a tight-binding formulation of electronic transport in nanostructures. Large-scale ab-initio molecular dynamics simulations are used to obtain efficiently accurate trajectories in phase space. The extended Bloch orbitals for states along these trajectories are converted into maximally-localized orbitals, providing an exact mapping of the ground-state electronic structure onto a short-ranged Hamiltonian. Green's functions, self-energies, and ballistic conductance can then be obtained for any given configuration, and averaged over the appropriate statistical ensemble. / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)

Wannierfunctions are a superposition of the Blochorbitals in a Brillouin zone belonging to a manifold of energy bands. These Wannier functions have several uses regarding the analysis of the crystal on a local level. Since the Bloch orbital has a gauge indeterminacy and the Wannier functions therefore is strongly non-unique, the natural choice is the maximally localized Wannier funcition. These can be calculated from the standard Bloch orbital using unitary transformation by a steepest descent algorithm as proposed by Nicola Marzari and David Vanderbilt. Here the argument for this algorithm is discussed and explained.

As a result of the computing power provided by the current technology, computational methods now play an important role in modeling and designing materials at the nanoscale. The focus of this dissertation is two-fold: first, new computational methods to model nanoscale transport are introduced, then state-of-the-art tools based on density functional theory are employed to explore the properties of phosphorene, a novel low dimensional material with great potential for applications in nanotechnology. A Wannier function description of the electron density is combined with a generalized Slater-Koster interpolation technique, enabling the introduction of a new computational method for constructing first-principles model Hamiltonians for electron and hole transport that maintain the density functional theory accuracy at a fraction of the computational cost. As a proof of concept, this new approach is applied to model polythiophene, a polymer ubiquitous in organic photovoltaic devices. A new low dimensional material, phosphorene - a single layer of black phosphorous - the phosphorous analogue of graphene was first isolated in early 2014 and has attracted considerable attention. It is a semiconductor with a sizable band gap, which makes it a perfect candidate for ultrathin transistors. Multi-layer phosphorene transistors have already achieved the highest hole mobility of any two-dimensional material apart from graphene. Phosphorene is prone to oxidation, which can lead to degradation of electrical properties, and eventually structural breakdown. The calculations reported here are some of the first to explore this oxidation and reveal that different types of oxygen defects are readily introduced in the phosphorene lattice, creating electron traps in some situations. These traps are responsible for the non-ambipolar behavior observed by experimental collaborators in air-exposed few-layer black phosphorus devices. Calculation results predict that air exposure of phosphorene creates a new family of two-dimensional oxides, which has been later confirmed by X-ray photoemission measurements. These oxides can form protective coatings for phosphorene and have interesting tunable electronic properties. Finally, Wannier function interpolation has been used to demonstrate that a saddle-point van Hove singularity is present near the phosphorene Fermi energy, as observed in some layered cuprate high temperature superconductors; this leads to an intriguing strain-induced ferromagnetic instability.

Submitted by Allan Victor Ribeiro null (allan_vr@fc.unesp.br) on 2017-07-12T19:01:29Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese - Allan Victor Ribeiro - Posmat.pdf: 17273743 bytes, checksum: 654df5020a2a453977468f1145d42794 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Monique Sasaki (sayumi_sasaki@hotmail.com) on 2017-07-14T17:31:10Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 ribeiro_av_dr_bauru.pdf: 17273743 bytes, checksum: 654df5020a2a453977468f1145d42794 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-14T17:31:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ribeiro_av_dr_bauru.pdf: 17273743 bytes, checksum: 654df5020a2a453977468f1145d42794 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-04-28 / Gregory H. Wannier, em 1937, introduziu uma representação dos orbitais eletrônicos cristalinos em termos de funções ortogonais localizadas relacionadas com os orbitais atômicos. Posteriormente, tais funções foram denominadas de funções de Wannier. Nos últimos 30 anos, estudos têm apontado um crescente interesse da comunidade científica por estas funções, as quais se apresentam como uma poderosa ferramenta para a investigação de propriedades eletrônicas dos materiais. No presente trabalho, calculamos as funções de Wannier de sistemas nanométricos uni e bidimensionais. Inicialmente abordamos o cumuleno, que consiste em uma cadeia de átomos de carbono equidistantes. As funções de Bloch são obtidas por meio de uma aproximação tight binding e as funções de Wannier, usuais e generalizadas, são calculadas a partir delas. São discutidas as relações entre as funções de Wannier generalizadas obtidas por meio da aproximação tight binding e os orbitais híbridos sp. Isto é explicado mediante um cálculo alternativo das funções de Wannier, com a resolução de um problema de autovalores generalizado. As funções de Wannier das bandas pz do grafeno também são calculadas a partir das funções de Bloch obtidas por meio de uma aproximação tight binding. Elas assemelham-se a um par ligante-antiligante de orbitais moleculares, e suas propriedades de simetria e localização são discutidas. Finalmente, por meio de uma combinação dos pacotes PWscf (baseado em ondas planas e na teoria do funcional da densidade) e wannier90, são calculadas as funções de Bloch e as funções de Wannier de máxima localização para arranjos atômicos com periodicidade em uma (cumuleno) e duas (grafeno) dimensões. Há boa concordância qualitativa entre os resultados da aproximação tight binding e da teoria do funcional da densidade. Deve-se ressaltar que a primeira abordagem não usa réplicas dos sistemas nanométricos e permite aprofundar o entendimento das propriedades e do significado físico das funções de Wannier. / Gregory H. Wannier, in 1937, introduced a representation of crystalline electronic orbitals in terms of localized orthogonal functions related to the atomic orbitals. Subsequently, these functions were called as Wannier functions. Over the past 30 years, studies have shown a growing interest of the scientific community on these functions, which are presented as a powerful tool to investigate the electronic properties of materials. In this work, we calculate the Wannier functions of one and two-dimensional nanometric systems. Initially, we deal with cumulene, which consists of a chain of equidistant carbon atoms. The Bloch functions are obtained by means of a tight binding approximation, and the standard and the generalized Wannier functions are derived from them. The relations between the generalized Wannier functions and the sp hybrid orbitals is discussed. This is explained through an alternative calculation of the Wannier functions, solving a generalized eigenvalue problem. The pz Wannier functions of graphene are also calculated from the Bloch functions obtained by means of a tight binding approximation. They resemble a bonding-antibonding pair of molecular orbitals, and their symmetry and localization properties are discussed. Finally, by combining the computational codes PWscf (based on plane waves and the Density-functional Theory) and wannier90, the Bloch functions and the maximally localized Wannier functions are calculated for atomic arrangements which are periodic in one (cumulene) and two (graphene) dimensions. There is a good qualitative agreement between the results of the tight binding and density-functional approaches. It should be noted that the former does not involve replicas of the nanometric systems and allows a deeper understanding of the properties and the physical meaning of the Wannier functions.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:30:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-04-18Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:20:42Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 romano_mc_me_bauru.pdf: 1627459 bytes, checksum: 18d280916e43c7dadfd84a8bfbb6e9f0 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Os cristais fotônicos são novos materiais em que a permissividade dielétrica e a permeabilidade magnética apresentam a periodicidade de uma rede de Bravais. No caso dos sólidos cristalinos, é a energia potencial de cada elétron que apresenta esse tipo de periodicidade. Por conta das semelhanças que existem entre as equações que descrevem os sintomas eletrônicos e fotônicos, muitos dos conceitos e métodos da teoria de estados eletrônicos vêm sendo aplicados na investigação de cristais fotônicos. Dentre esses conceitos, as funções de Wannier apresentam vantagens para o tratamento de estados eletrônicos e modos fotônicos localizados. Este trabalho aborda o caso de cristais fotônicos unidimensionais com simetria de inversão. Primeiramente são calculados e analisadas funções de Wannier bem localizadas. Em seguida são investigados os modos eletromagnéticos localizados produzidos por defeitos em cristais fotônicos, utilizando o método de matriz de transferência e o método da combinação linear das funções de Wannier. Finalmente, é feita a comparação dos resultados obtidos mediante esses métodos e são discutidas as vantagens do uso de funções de Wannier / Photonic crystal are new materials where both the dielectric permittivity and the magnetic permeability present the periodicity of a Bravais lattice. In the case of electronic states, this property is shown by the mono-eletronic potential energy. Due to the similarities between the eletronic and photonic problems, many concepts and methods of theory of electronic states are being applied to investigate photonic crystals. Among such concepts, the Wannier functions are advantageous to deal with either localized photonic modes. This work addresses the case of one-dimensional photonic crystals with inversion symmetry. First, well-localized Wannier functions are calculated and analyzed. Then, the localized modes produced by defects in photonic crystals are investigated by using either transfer matrices or linear combination Wannier functions. Finally, the results obtained by the two methods are compared and the advantages of using Wannier functions are discussed

The scope of this thesis is analyzing and characterizing certain gapless states in tight-binding non-Hermitian systems. We start by providing a pedagogical introduction to tight-binding theory, topological phases of matter, Wannier functions as real-space duals of Bloch functions and their properties, non-Hermitian systems and associated differences from standard Hermitian systems. Subsequently we show the possibility of extending pre-existing concepts of Hermitian quantum mechanics to non-Hermitian settings without losing predicting power over some peculiar observables. We conclude by providing numerical evidence for existence of certain topological states in finite one-dimensional and two-dimensional systems, also testing their robustness against symmetry-breaking and disorder.

The field of condensed matter computational physics has seen an explosion of applicability over the last 50+ years. Since the very first calculations with ENIAC and MANIAC the field has continued to pushed the boundaries of what is possible; from the first large-scale molecular dynamics simulation, to the implementation of Density Functional Theory and large scale Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics, to million-core turbulence calculations by Standford. These milestones represent not only technological advances but theoretical breakthroughs and algorithmic improvements as well. The work in this thesis was completed in the hopes of furthering such advancement, even by a small fraction. Here we will focus mainly on the calculation of electronic and structural properties of solids and liquids, where we shall implement a wide range of novel approaches that are both computational efficient and physically enlightening. To this end we routinely will work with maximally localized Wannier functions (MLWFs) which have recently seen a revival in mainstream scientific literature. MLWFs present us with interesting opportunity to calculate a localized orbital within the planewave formalism of atomistic simulations. Such a localization will prove to be invaluable in the construction of layer-based superlattice models, linear scaling hybrid functional schemes and model quasiparticle calculations. In the first application of MLWF we will look at modeling functional piezoelectricity in superlattices. Based on the locality principle of insulating superlattices, we apply the method of Wu et al to the piezoelectric strains of individual layers under iifixed displacement field. For a superlattice of arbitrary stacking sequence an accurate model is acquired for predicting piezoelectricity. By applying the model in the superlattices where ferroelectric and antiferrodistortive modes are in competition, functional piezoelectricity can be achieved. A strong nonlinear effect is observed and can be further engineered in the PbTiO 3 /SrTiO 3 superlattice and an interface enhancement of piezoelectricity is found in the BaTiO 3 /CaTiO 3 superlattice. The second project will look at The ionization potential distributions of hydrated hydroxide and hydronium which are computed within a many-body approach for electron excitations using configurations generated by ab initio molecular dynamics. The experimental features are well reproduced and found to be closely related to the molecular excitations. In the stable configurations, the ionization potential is mainly perturbed by solvent water molecules within the first solvation shell. On the other hand, electron excitation is delocalized on both proton receiving and donating complex during proton transfer, which shifts the excitation energies and broadens the spectra for both hydrated ions. The third project represents a work in progress, where we also make use of the previous electron excitation theory applied to ab initio x-ray emission spectroscopy. In this case we make use of a novel method to include the ultrafast core-hole electron dynamics present in such situations. At present we have shown only strong qualitative agreement with experiment. / Physics

The importance and promise that topological materials hold has been recently underscored by the award of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2016 ``for theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter." This dissertation explores the novel qualities and useful topologically protected surface states of topological insulators and semimetals. Topological materials have protected qualities which are not removed by weak perturbations. The manifestations of these qualities in topological insulators are spin-momentum-locked surface states, and in Weyl and Dirac semimetals they are unconventional open surface states (Fermi arcs) with anomalous electrical transport properties. There is great promise in utilizing the topologically protected surface states in electronics of the future, including spintronics, quantum computers, and highly sensitive devices. Physicists and chemists are also interested in the fundamental physics and exotic fermions exhibited in topological materials and in heterostructures including them. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the concepts and methods of topological band theory. Chapter 2 investigates the spin and spin-orbital texture and electronic structures of the surface states at side surfaces of a topological insulator, Bi2Se3, by using slab models within density functional theory. Two representative, experimentally achieved surfaces are examined, and it is shown that careful consideration of the crystal symmetry is necessary to understand the physics of the surface state Dirac cones at these surfaces. This advances the existing literature by properly taking into account surface relaxation and symmetry beyond what is contained in effective bulk model Hamiltonians. Chapter 3 examines the Fermi arcs of a topological Dirac semimetal (DSM) in the presence of asymmetric charge transfer, of the kind which would be present in heterostructures. Asymmetric charge transfer allows one to accurately identify the projections of Dirac nodes despite the existence of a band gap and to engineer the properties of the Fermi arcs, including spin texture. Chapter 4 investigates the effect of an external magnetic field applied to a DSM. The breaking of time reversal symmetry splits the Dirac nodes into topologically charged Weyl nodes which exhibit Fermi arcs as well as conventionally-closed surface states as one varies the chemical potential. / Ph. D.