O iminente fim da \"era do Silício\" tem motivado a busca de novas tecnologias para utilização na indústria eletrônica. Dentre estas tecnologias, a eletrônica molecular explora o uso moléculas como elementos funcionais em dispositivos eletrônicos. Nesta Tese, realizamos cálculos de primeiros princípios baseados na teoria do funcional da densidade (DFT) para determinar as propriedades eletrônicas, estruturais e de transporte em sistemas com aplicação em eletrônica molecular. Para o benzeno-1,4-ditiol (BDT), considerado um sistema protótipo dentro da eletrônica molecular, correlacionamos a adsorção, em uma superfície de Au, com as propriedades de transporte. Na sequência, analisamos evolução estrutural e o efeito de átomos de Au adsorvidos na superfície de Au na transmitância do BDT entre eletrodos de Au. A importância da correção de auto-interação (SIC), nos cálculos de transporte da junção molecular (Au/BDT/Au), também foi discutida. Em seguida, determinamos as propriedades eletrônicas e estruturais da molécula y[(tpy SH)2]x, onde y representa os metais de transição Co, Fe e Ni e; x está associado aos estados de carga 0, +, 2+ e 3+. Verificamos que os metais de transição ficam em uma configuração de baixo spin e, dependendo do estado de carga do metal de transição uma distorção Jahn-Teller leva a uma redução na simetria local de D2d para C2v. Por fim, devido à possibilidade de aplicação em spintrônica, discutimos o efeito de uma impureza de Cobalto na evolução estrutural e transmitância de um nanofio de Au. / The possible end of the road for Silicon has motivated academic researchers and research laboratories to search for new technologies to be applied in the electronic industry. The molecular electronics, which studies the possibility of using molecules as active elements in a new generation of electronic devices, is among these new technologies. In this Thesis, we performed first principles calculations within the density functional theory (DFT) framework to determine the structural, electronic and transport properties of systems with strong application on molecular electronics. We analised the benzene-1,4-dithiol (BDT). For this prototypical system we coupled its adsorption on an Au(111) surface with its transport properties. After this, we investigated its structural evolution between gold leads and the effects of adsorded gold atoms on the Au(111) surface in the trasmitance. The effect of the self-interaction correction (SIC) in the transport calculations of the molecular junction (Au/BDT/Au) was discussed as well. Moreover, we determined the electronic and the structural properties of the molecule y[(tpySH)2]x, where y stands for the transition metals Co, Fe and Ni and; x is associated with the charge states 0, +, 2+ e 3+. We verified that the transition metals are more stable at the low spin configuration. Depending on the charge state a Jahn-Teller distortion leads to a local symmetry reduction: D2d to C2v. Finally, with a spintronic application in mind, we analised the effect of a Cobalt impurity on the structural evolution and transmitance of a gold nanowire.

Electronic structure calculation is an essential approach for determining the structure and function of molecules and is therefore of critical interest to physics, chemistry, and materials science. Of the various algorithms for calculating electronic structure, the pseudospectral method is among the fastest. However, the trade-off for its speed is more up-front programming and testing, and as a result, applications using the pseudospectral method currently lag behind those using other methods. In Part I of this dissertation, we first advance the pseudospectral method by optimizing it for an important application, polarized Raman spectroscopy, which is a well-established tool used to characterize molecular properties. This is an application of particular importance because often the easiest and most economical way to obtain the polarized Raman spectrum of a material is to simulate it; thus, utilization of the pseudospectral method for this purpose will accelerate progress in the determination of molecular properties. We demonstrate that our implementation of Raman spectroscopy using the pseudospectral method results in spectra that are just as accurate as those calculated using the traditional analytic method, and in the process, we derive the most comprehensive formulation to date of polarized Raman intensity formulas, applicable to both crystalline and isotropic systems. Next, we apply our implementation to determine the orientations of crystalline oligothiophenes --- a class of materials important in the field of organic electronics --- achieving excellent agreement with experiment and demonstrating the general utility of polarized Raman spectroscopy for the determination of crystal orientation. In addition, we derive from first-principles a method for using polarized Raman spectra to establish unambiguously whether a uniform region of a material is crystalline or isotropic. Finally, we introduce free, open-source software that allows a user to determine any of a number of polarized Raman properties of a sample given common output from electronic structure calculations. In Part II, we apply the pseudospectral method to other areas of scientific importance requiring a deeper understanding of molecular structure and function. First, we use it to accurately determine the frequencies of vibrational tags on biomolecules that can be detected in real-time using stimulated Raman spectroscopy. Next, we evaluate the performance of the pseudospectral method for calculating excited-state energies and energy gradients of large molecules --- another new application of the pseudospectral method --- showing that the calculations run much more quickly than those using the analytic method. Finally, we use the pseudospectral method to simulate the bottleneck process of a solar cell used for water splitting, a promising technology for converting the sun's energy into hydrogen fuel. We apply the speed of the pseudospectral method by modeling the relevant part of the system as a large, explicitly passivated titanium dioxide nanoparticle and simulating it realistically using hybrid density functional theory with an implicit solvent model, yielding insight into the physical nature of the rate-limiting step of water splitting. These results further validate the particularly fast and accurate simulation methodologies used, opening the door to efficient and realistic cluster-based, fully quantum-mechanical simulations of the bottleneck process of a promising technology for clean solar energy conversion. Taken together, we show how both polarized Raman spectroscopy and the pseudospectral method are effective tools for analyzing the structure and function of important molecular systems.

As propriedades eletrônicas e estruturais de defeitos em bulk e superfície de semicondutores são estudadas através de cálculos de primeiros princípios. Apresentamos um estudo detalhado para as relaxações e distorções para diferentes estados de carga da vacância em Ge. Nosso principal resultado é que a vacância em Ge não é um sistema de U-negativo, ao contrário do Si. Nós estudamos a superfície Si(00l) e comparamos imagens de STM para estados vazios geradas teoricamente com imagens de experiências recentes de STM de alta resolução. Apresentamos também uma análise das possíveis configurações dímero de Ge sobre Si(00l) e uma comparação de imagens de STH geradas teoricamente com imagens experimentais recentes de estágio inicial de crescimento de Ge sobre Si(00l) na temperatura ambiente. Nós estudamos de­ feitos complexos em GaAs. Em particular, nós mostramos que o par de antiestrutura AsGa + GaAs pode existir em duas configurações, nn e nnn. Nossos resultados indicam que apesar da primeira estrutura ser mais favorável energeticamente ela apresenta uma barreira de recombinação relativamente menor, e consequentemente sua concentração é muito menor que a da estrutura nnn em experiências de irradiação seguida por annealing. Por último, nós apresentamos resultados da implementação do método de Monte Carlo Cinético para o estudo da difusão de As em Si baseada em resultados de primeiros princípios para as barreiras de migração. O principal objetivo é relacionar processos microscópicos com propriedades de grande escala, isto é alcançado com um certo grau de sucesso. / The electronic and structural properties of defects in bulk and surface of semiconductor are studied through first principles method. We present a detailed study of the lattice and relaxation and distortions for different charge states for the vacancy in Ge. Our main result is that the vacancy is not a negative U system, contrary to Si. We studied the surface Si(001) and compared theoretically generated STM images for empty states with recent experimental high resolution STM images. We also presented an analysis of the possible configurations of Ge dimer on Si(001) and a comparison of the theoretically generated STM images with recent experimental ones for the initial stage of Ge growth on Si(OO1) at low temperature. We studied defect complexes in GaAs. In particular, we show that the anti-structure pair AsGa+GaAs can exist in two possible configurations, nn and nnn. Our results indicate that although the first. structure is more energetic favorable it presents a relatively low recombination barrier which implies that is concentration is much lower than the nnn anti-structure pair in irradiation experiments followed by annealing. Finally we present results for implementation of the Kinetic Monte Carlo method for studying the As diffusion in Si, based on first principles results for the migration barriers. The main purpose is to link microscopic processes to large scale properties, and this is achieved with a certain degree of success.

X-rays have been widely exploited to unravel the structure of matter since their discovery in 1895. Nowadays, with the emergence of new X-ray sources with higher intensity and very short pulse duration, notably X-ray Free Electron Lasers, the number of experiments that may be considered in the X-ray regime has increased dramatically, making the characterization of gas phase atoms and molecules in space and time possible. This thesis explores in the theoretical analysis and calculation of X-ray scattering atoms and molecules, far beyond the independent atom model. Amethod to calculate inelastic X-ray scattering from atoms and molecules is presented. The method utilizes electronic wavefunctions calculated using ab-initio electronic structure methods. Wavefunctions expressed in Gaussian type orbitals allow for efficient calculations based on analytical Fourier transforms of the electron density and overlap integrals. The method is validated by extensive calculations of inelastic cross-sections in H, He+, He, Ne, C, Na and N2. The calculated cross-sections are compared to cross-sections from inelastic X-ray scattering experiments, electron energy-loss spectroscopy, and theoretical reference values. We then begin to account for the effect of nuclear motion, in the first instance by predicting elastic X-ray scattering from state-selected molecules. We find strong signatures corresponding to the specific vibrational and rotational state of (polyatomic) molecules. The ultimate goal of this thesis is to study atomic and molecular wavepackets using time-resolved X-ray scattering. We present a theoretical framework based on quantum electrodynamics and explore various elastic and inelastic limits of the scattering expressions. We then explore X-ray scattering from electronic wavepackets, following on from work by other groups, and finally examine the time-resolved X-ray scattering from non-adiabatic electronic-nuclear wavepackets in the H2 molecule, demonstrating the importance of accounting for the inelastic effects.

Os estudos de modelagem molecular das interações entre ligantes baseado em oxindóis (isaepy, isapn, [Cu(isapn)]², isaenim e o SU9516) e as proteínas kinases dependentes de ciclina (CDK1 e CDK2) são apresentados neste trabalho. Uma inibição na atividade da CDK1 e CDK2, que catalisam a fosforilação de grupos específicos em proteínas, tem implicações na indução da apoptose celular. O objetivo é tentar determinar qual destes ligantes potencializa a inibição da síntese de ATP (adenosina trifosfato) em ADP (adenosina difosfato) no sítio ativo da CDK1 e CDK2 para, desta forma, induzir a apoptose de células cancerígenas. Os estudos realizados neste trabalho indicam que dentre os ligantes analisados, o isaepy e o isapn obtiveram melhores resultados de estabilidade e ligações de hidrogênio entre aminoácidos dentro do sítio. Analisamos a influência do íon Cu no aumento da eficácia do isapn na atividade inibitória (complexo [Cu(isapn)]²) e comparamos os resultados obtidos dos estudos do isapn e [Cu(isapn)]², quando inseridos no sítio de ligação do ATP da CDK1, com medidas de eletroforese em gel. Verificamos que os nossos resultados foram corroborados com as medidas de eletroforese. Também discutimos os resultados de cálculos de acoplamento hiperfino para o Cu no [Cu(isapn)]² em diferentes ambientes químicos e fizemos a comparação destes resultados com medidas de EPR. Desta forma, conseguimos verificar o ambiente químico do íon Cu e um aumento da estabilidade do isapn dentro do sítio estudado com a inserção do íon Cu. Este trabalho visa contribuir para a síntese de novos ligantes que aumentem a eficácia da inibição da síntese de ATP em ADP nas CDKs e também para a minimização dos custos através da diminuição da realização de experimentos que se baseiam em métodos de tentativa e erro. / Molecular modeling studies of the interaction of oxindol based ligands (isaepy, isapn [Cu(isapn)]²,isaenim and SU9516) with Cyclin Dependent Kinases proteins (CDK1 and CDK2) are presented here. CDK1 and CDK2 catalyze the phosphorylation of specific groups in proteins and inhibition of its activities implies in induction of cancer cells apoptosis. The goal is to determine which ligands increase the inhibition of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) into ADP (adenosine diphosphate) synthesis which occurs inside the CDK1 and CDK2 active site. We analyze the influence of the Cu ion on increasing the inhibitory activity in isapn ([Cu(isapn)]² metal complex). Comparisons between the results obtained from studies of the isapn and [Cu(isapn)]² inserted into the ATP binding site of CDK1 with measurements of gel electrophoresis were performed. The hyperfine coupling at Cu ion in [Cu(isapn)]² in different chemical environments are here obtained and the results are compared with EPR measurements. This work aims to contribute to the development of new ligands which increase the inhibition of the synthesis of ATP into ADP in the CDKs moreover we aim to assist in the reduction of the costs of measurements that are based on trial and error aproaches.

Dans cette thèse, nous explorons des matériaux basés sur le bismuth qui peuvent présenter des propriétés topologiques. Bi est un composant d’Isolants Topologiques identifiés qui consistent en un volume isolant tout en présentant aussi des états électroniques conducteurs en surface topologiquement protégés. En particulier, ces états de surface sont polarisés en spin et sont protégés par la symétrie du renversement du temps. L’attrait des Isolants Topologiques découle non seulement de leur intérêt évident du point de vue de la physique fondamentale, mais aussi du fait qu’ils puissent trouver une application en spintronics et dans les ordinateurs quantiques.Dans ces systèmes, le couplage spin-orbit joue un rôle central. Le couplage spin-orbit peut aussi mener à la levée de dégénérescences de Rashba ou de Dresselhaus, phénomènes découlant de la brisure en symétrie respectivement engendrée par la surface/interface d’un système ou de l’inhérente structure cristalline atomique.L’interprétation de mesures de structures de bandes dépendantes du spin, comme observées par spectroscopie par photoemission résolue en angle (et en spin), est appuyée et complémentée par des calculs ab-initio Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker de la structure électronique qui incluent tous les aspects des systèmes examinés : en particulier le couplage spin-orbit, fondamentalement compris grâce à une approche entièrement relativiste.Nous avons d’abord déposé des couches minces de Bi sur un substrat d’InAs(111). Un cristal de Bi de très bonne qualité est obtenu, confirmé par la reproduction par étude théorique des bandes électroniques mesurées. En parallèle de la croissance de la couche de Bi, nous observons que l’In et le Bi forment des cristaux d’InBi, exposant des états de surface topologiques. Nos analyses théoriques confirment que ces états de surface sont polarisés en spin.Dans la seconde partie de la thèse, Bi est utilisé comme un dopant dans InAs, donnant un alliage d’InAsBi. L’intense couplage spin-orbit apporté par le Bi génère simultanément des effets Rashba et Dresselhaus mesurables, levant par conséquence la dégénérescence des états de surface de manière complètement atypique, donnant des états non-hélicoïdaux polarisés en spin. / In this thesis, we explore bismuth based materials that may exhibit topological properties. Bi is a parent compound of known Topological Insulators which consist of an insulating bulk while also presenting topologically protected conducting electronic surface states. In particular, these surface states are spin polarised and are protected by time-reversal symmetry. The dual appeal of topological insulators stems not only from their obvious interest from a fundamental physics point of view, but also from the fact that they may find use in spintronics and quantum computing.In those systems the spin-orbit coupling plays a central role. Spin-orbit coupling can also lead to the Rashba or Dresselhaus splitting, phenomena arising from the symmetry breaking respectively engendered by the surface/interface of a system or from the inherent atomic crystal structure.The interpretation of measured spin dependent band structure, as observed in (Spin-) and Angle-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy, was supported and completed by ab-initio Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker electronic structure calculations which account for all aspects of the investigated systems: in particular spin-orbit coupling, fundamentally included thanks to a fully relativistic approach.We first deposited Bi thin films onto a InAs(111) substrate. A crystal of Bi of very high quality was grown, confirmed by reproduction of the measured electronic bands by theoretical investigation. In parallel to Bi film growth, we observed that In and Bi form InBi crystals, exhibiting topological surface states. Our theoretical analyses confirm that these surface states are spin polarised.In the second part of the thesis, Bi was used as a dopant within InAs, forming an InAsBi alloy system. The strong spin-orbit coupling brought on by Bi generated simultaneously measurable Rashba and Dresselhaus effects, consequently splitting surface states in a completely atypical manner, giving non-helical spin polarised states.

A fotodinâmica de sistemas moleculares representa um dos principais tópicos atuais da físico-química molecular. O conhecimento das propriedades dos estados eletrônicos excitados tem permitido desenvolver áreas de vital importância como das energias renováveis, da fotomedicina, dos sensores fluorescentes, entre outras. O objetivo desta tese está orientado a estudar teoricamente a influência do meio (ou efeito de solvente) na fotofísica e nas propriedades dos estados eletrônicos excitados de sistemas moleculares. Nesta tese, primeiramente foi feito um estudo em fase gasosa da superfície de energia potencial do sistema molecular HSO2 e do efeito da energia rotacional na reação OH+SO. Na superfície de energia potencial foram caracterizadas um grande número de estruturas estacionárias e foi encontrado um estado de transição que liga a região mais energética da superfície com a menos energética. Em relação ao papel da energia rotacional na reação mencionada, foi realizado um estudo de trajetórias quase-clássicas, onde foi observado um decréscimo da reatividade com o aumento da energia rotacional total depositada nos reagentes. Posteriormente, foi estudado o efeito do solvente nas propriedades dos estados eletrônicos excitados e nos mecanismos de decaimento de três sistemas moleculares, acetona, 1-nitronaftaleno e daidzein. Na acetona, foi estudada a influência da polarização eletrônica do estado excitado n* provocada pelo solvente no deslocamento espectral da banda de fluorescência. A banda de emissão obtida em água mostra um deslocamento espectral muito pequeno em relação à fase gasosa, em concordância com as evidencias experimentais. Também foi observada pouca dependência do deslocamento espectral com o grau de polarização eletrônica desse estado excitado. O sistema molecular 1-nitronaftaleno foi estudado a fim de esclarecer a ultrarápida desativação eletrônica não fluorescente observada experimentalmente após a transição de absorção, assim como, caracterizar os espectros de absorção transitória também observados nos experimentos. Foi encontrado um intersystem crossing muito eficiente entre o primeiro estado excitado singleto e o segundo estado tripleto, que explica o decaimento não fluorescente deste sistema molecular. O modelo de decaimento proposto permite descrever corretamente os espectros de absorção transitória nos solventes metanol e etanol, através de transições de absorção dos estados eletrônicos tripletos. Finalmente, o sistema molecular daidzein foi estudado a fim de entender porque em solvente polar prótico, como a água, o sistema é fluorescente, mostrando um valor de Stokes shift consideravelmente grande e na presença de solvente polar aprótico, como a acetonitrila, não é observada fluorescência. Nesse sentido, foi estudada a evolução dos estados eletrônicos excitados, na presença dos solventes água e acetonitrila, após as transição de absorção. A topologia dos estados eletrônicos excitados é diferente para cada um dos solventes, em acetonitrila o sistema tem acesso a um intersystem crossing muito eficiente que permite o decaimento não fluorescente. Em água o panorama é diferente, neste caso, não é possível a ocorrência do intersystem crossing e o sistema decai por fluorescência para o estado fundamental. No estado eletrônico fluorescente é observada uma polarização eletrônica significativa que provoca o grande valor de Stokes shift observado experimentalmente. / The photodynamics of molecular systems represents one of the most important topics of the molecular physical chemistry today. The knowledge of the excited electronic states properties has allowed the development of several important areas, such as the renewable energies, the photomedicine, fluorescent sensors, etc. The aim of this thesis is oriented to the theoretical study of the solvent effect on the photophysics and on the excited electronic states properties of molecular systems. In this thesis, it was initially studied the potential energy surface of the HSO2 molecular system in gas phase and the rotational energy effect on the reactivity of the OH+SO reaction. In the potential energy surface a large number of stationary structures were characterized and it was found a transition state which connects the highest energetic region to the lowest one. Regarding the role of rotational energy on the mentioned reaction, a quasi-classical trajectories study was performed, indicating a decrease in the reactivity when the total rotational energy deposited in the reactants is increased. Subsequently, it was studied the solvent effect on the excited electronic states and on the deactivation mechanisms of three molecular systems, acetone, 1-nitronaphthalene and daidzein. In the acetone molecular system, it was studied the influence of the electronic polarization, caused by the solvent, in the fluorescence spectral shift of the n* excited state. The emission band obtained in water shows a small spectral shift compared to the gas phase, in agreement with the experimental evidences. It was also observed a little dependence of the spectral shift with the degree of the excited state polarization. The 1-nitronaphthalene molecular system was studied to clarify the ultrafast non-fluorescent deactivation mechanism experimentally observed after the absorption transitions, as well as to characterize the transient absorption spectra also observed in the experiments. A very efficient intersystem crossing was found between the first singlet excited state and the second triplet state, which explains the nonfluorescent decay of this molecular system. The proposed deactivation model allows properly describing the transient absorption spectra in methanol and ethanol solvents by absorption transitions from the triplet electronic states. Finally, the daidzein molecular system was studied to understand why in polar protic solvent, such as water, the system is fluorescent, showing a very large Stokes shift value and in polar aprotic solvent, such as acetonitrila, the fluorescence is not observed. In that sense, it was studied the evolution of the excited electronic states in water and in acetonitrile after the absorption transition. The topology of the excited electronic states is different for each solvent, in acetonitrile the system is accessible to a very efficient intersystem crossing that enables the non-fluorescent decay. In water the picture is different, the intersystem crossing is not possible to occur and the system decays by fluorescence to the ground electronic state. In the fluorescent state is observed a considerable electronic polarization that causes the so large Stokes shift value experimentally observed.

<p>The present thesis concerns method development and applications in the field of first principles electronic structure calculations.</p><p>Augmented planewaves combine the simple planewaves with exact solutions of the Schrödinger equation for a spherical potential. This combination yields a very good set of basis functions for describing the electronic structure everywhere in a crystal potential. In the present work, developments of the original augmented planewave (APW) method are presented. It is shown that the exact APW eigenvalues can be found using information from the eigenvalues of the APW secular matrix. This provides a more efficient scheme to solve the APW eigenvalue problem, than the traditional evaluation of the secular determinant. Further, a new way of linearizing the APW method is presented and compared to the traditional linearized APW method (LAPW). Using a combination of the original APW basis functions and the so called local orbitals (lo), the APW+lo linearization is found to reproduce the results of the LAPW method, but already at a smaller basis set size. Another advantage of the new linearization is a faster convergence of forces, with respect to the basis set size, as compared to the LAPW method.</p><p>The applications include studies of the non-collinear magnetic configuration in the fcc-based high-temperature phase of iron, γ-Fe. The system is found to be extremely sensitive to volume changes, as well as to a tetragonal distortion of the cubic unit cell. A continuum of degenerate spin spiral configurations, including the global energy minimum, are found for the undistorted crystal. The in-plane anisotropy of the ideal interface between a ferromagnetic layer of bcc Fe and the semiconducting ZnSe crystal is also investigated. In contrast to the four-fold symmetric arrangement of the atoms at the interface, the in-plane magnetic anisotropy displays a large uniaxiality. The calculated easy axes are in agreement with experiments for both Se and Zn terminated interfaces. In addition, calculations of the hyperfine parameters were performed for Li intercalated battery materials.</p>

<p>Transport properties within the Boltzmann transport equation for metallic multi-layer structures as well as bulk materials, were the prime topic of this work. <i>Ab initio</i> total energy calculations for Hydrogen loaded metallic multi-layers were performed in order to shed some light onto problem of H depleted layers at the interfaces that have been experimentally observed. It was explained in connection with structural relaxation of the interface layers. </p><p>Further on conductivity behavior of Fe/V vs. Mo/V during Hydrogen load was discussed. The difference in, on first sight, rather similar multi-layer structures was explained by the magnitude of Hydrogen induced Vanadium expansion. Problem of variation of conductivity with changed c/a ratio of metals and semiconductors in general was addressed as well. The variations due to change of the Fermi surface of the corresponding materials were observed as well as some intriguing general patterns. The phenomenon could be regarded as piezoresistivity on electronic structure level. For the 3d transition metals variation of conductivity/resistivity through the period was studied.</p><p>A possible explanation for anomalous behavior of Manganese resistivity due to its much greater lattice constant in comparison to its neighbors in the period is presented. Field of disordered alloys and low dimensional magnetism was touched by discussing Mo/Ru formation energy as well as magnetic nano-wires grown on surfaces.</p><p>All total energy calculations as well as band structure calculations were performed by using Density Functional Theory based numerical computations. A short but comprehensive review of most common linear-response electron transport techniques is given.</p>

<p>This thesis is divided in three parts. In the first part, a study of materials aimed for spintronics applications is presented. More specifically, calculations of the critical temperature in diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS) and half-metallic ferromagnets are presented using a combination of electronic structure and statistical methods. It is shown that disorder and randomness of the magnetic atoms in DMS materials play a very important role in the determination of the critical temperature.</p><p>The second part treats materials in reduced dimensions. Studies of multilayer and trilayer systems are presented. A theoretical model that incorporates interdiffusion in a multilayer is developed that gives better agreement with experimental observations. Using Monte Carlo simulations, the observed magnetic properties in the trilayer system Ni/Cu/Co at finite temperatures are qualitatively reproduced.</p><p>In the third part, electronic structure calculations of complex Mn-based compounds displaying noncollinear magnetism are presented. The calculations reproduce with high accuracy the observed magnetic properties in these compounds. Furthermore, a model based on the electronic structure of the necessary conditions for noncollinear magnetism is presented.</p>