Submitted by Jorge Silva (jorgelmsilva@ufrrj.br) on 2017-10-13T20:23:03Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2014 - Arnaldo Cesar Almeida Oliveira.pdf: 1706735 bytes, checksum: e15df5900be5e8087531ffa6a80e066e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-10-13T20:23:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2014 - Arnaldo Cesar Almeida Oliveira.pdf: 1706735 bytes, checksum: e15df5900be5e8087531ffa6a80e066e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-10-31 / CAPES / Understanding the structural properties of dislocations is essential since these defects govern the processes plastic deformation of materials. Particularly in semiconductors, these studies are important given the relevance of these materials for microelectronics. In this work, our focus will be the 90o partial dislocations in silicon. For the theoretical study of atomic-scale crystal dislocations, we use simulations based on semi-empirical quantum-mechanical methods closely linked to the tight-binding treatment, since it considers in its formulation that crystalline electronic states can be described in terms of atomic orbitals: Density Matrix Method Tight-Binding Order-N (DMTB). This method has a low computational cost which allows us to work with very large systems atoms in structures representation -including thousands of sites. In short, we describe how to produce and represent the 90o partial dislocations in Si, we consider three models for its core structure: a unreconstructed where the atoms have an almost fivefold coordination; a model reconstructed with period equal to the perfect lattice; and a model with twice period comparing with the perfect lattice. Finally, we calculate the range in energy of the system with the distance between the dislocations and the free surface of Si. / Compreender as propriedades estruturais de discord?ncias cristalinas ? fundamental uma vez que estes defeitos governam os processos de deforma??o pl?stica em materiais. Particularmente em semicondutores, esses estudos s?o importantes dada a relev?ncia desses materiais para a microeletr?nica. Neste trabalho nosso foco ser?o as discord?ncias cristalinas parciais a 90o em sil?cio. Para o estudo te?rico em escala at?mica das discord?ncias cristalinas, usamos simula??es baseadas em metodologias quanto-mec?nicas semi-emp?ricas atrav?s de um m?todo intimamente ligado ao tratamento tight-binding, uma vez que considera em sua formula??o que os estados eletr?nicos cristalinos podem ser descritos em termos de orbitais at?micos: M?todo da Matriz Densidade Tight-Binding de Ordem-N (DMTB). Este m?todo tem um custo computacional baixo o que permite que trabalhemos com sistemas muito grandes de ?tomos na representa??o das estruturas ? com milhares de s?tios inclusive. Em suma, descrevemos como produzir e representar as discord?ncias parciais a 90o em Si consideramos tr?s modelos para sua estrutura de caro?o: um n?o reconstru?do onde os ?tomos possuem uma coordena??o quase qu?ntupla; um modelo reconstru?do com per?odo igual ao per?odo da rede perfeita; e um modelo com per?odo dobrado em rela??o ao da rede perfeita. Por fim, calculamos a varia??o da energia do sistema com a dist?ncia entre as discord?ncias e a superf?cie livre do Si.

Dans cette thèse nous avons réalisé une étude théorique concernant les mécanismes de formation et les propriétés de transport électronique de fils de section atomique d’Au et de Pt.Pour cela, nous avons utilisé un Hamiltonien de Liaisons Fortes donnant accès aux propriétés électroniques et à l’énergie totale. Lors de nos simulations de traction de nanofils cristallins en Dynamique Moléculaire nous avons observé la formation de structures assimilables `a des nanotubes dont la chiralité évolue au cours de la déformation. En poursuivant la traction, nous avons observé la formation de structures planes (ou rubans) dans le cas de l’Au et du Pt. Ces rubans permettent de former des fils de section atomique pour l’Au mais pas pour le Pt, la différence étant liée aux propriétés mécaniques des éléments. Les calculs réalisés sur les propriétés de transport ont mis en évidence des effets d’interférence destructive induits par la géométrie du système. / In this thesis we study the formation mechanisms and the electronic transport propertiesof Au and Pt atomic wires. We have used a Tight Binding Hamiltonian giving access to theelectronic structure and to the total energy. By performing traction simulations of cristallinenanowires by Molecular Dynamics we observe the formation of structures similar to nanotubeswhose chirality evolve during the deformation. Following the traction process we observe theformation of planar structures (or ribbons) for both Au and Pt. These ribbons give rise to theformation of wires of atomic section for Au but not for Pt, the different behavior is related withthe different elastic properties of the two elements. Our preliminary results on the electronictransport properties show interference effects induced by the geometry which can cancel out theconductance.

Es werden physikallische Eigenschaften von Quasikristallen anhand von quasiperiodischen Ising- und Tight-Binding-Modellen auf dem fuenfzaehligen Penrose- und achtzaehligen Amman-Beenker-Muster untersucht. Bei den Ising-Modellen wird eine graphische Hochtemperaturentwicklung der freien Energie ausgerechnet und die kritischen Parameter des ferromagnetischen Phasenueberganges abgeschaetzt. Weiterhin wird mittels eines analytischen Resultates die freie Energie auf den periodischen Approximanten quasiperiodischer Muster exakt ausgerechnet und zur Bestimmung der Verteilung komplexer (Fisher-)Nullstellen herangezogen. Letztendlich wird noch ein Ising-Modell mit einem verschiedenen, nicht-Onsager kritischen Verhalten konstruiert und untersucht. Im zweiten Kapitel werden kritische, nichtnormierbare Eigenzustaende eines quasiperiodischen Tight-Binding-Modells exakt berechnet. Es stellt sich heraus, dass die Eigenzustaende eine selbstaehnliche, fraktale Struktur aufweisen die in Details untersucht wird.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Submitted by Deborah Santos (deborah.araujo89@gmail.com) on 2018-05-30T20:42:54Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese - Deborah Santos.pdf: 12203832 bytes, checksum: e193cc5eef9d1f8e0dd6df5a35d4cc55 (MD5) / Rejected by Ronildo Prado (ri.bco@ufscar.br), reason: Oi , Faltou enviar a Carta comprovante assinada pelo orientador. Solicite o modelo em sua Secretaria de Pós-graduação, preencha e colete a assinatura com o orientador e acesse novamente o sistema para fazer o Upload. Fico no aguardo para finalizarmos o processo. Abraços Ronildo on 2018-06-04T18:07:58Z (GMT) / Submitted by Deborah Santos (deborah.araujo89@gmail.com) on 2018-06-04T19:48:12Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Deborah Santos.pdf: 12203832 bytes, checksum: e193cc5eef9d1f8e0dd6df5a35d4cc55 (MD5) doc PPGQ.pdf: 706491 bytes, checksum: 90df4e7187c05b6824acb979f9f1cafd (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ri.bco@ufscar.br) on 2018-06-06T17:46:22Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Deborah Santos.pdf: 12203832 bytes, checksum: e193cc5eef9d1f8e0dd6df5a35d4cc55 (MD5) doc PPGQ.pdf: 706491 bytes, checksum: 90df4e7187c05b6824acb979f9f1cafd (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ri.bco@ufscar.br) on 2018-06-06T17:53:10Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Deborah Santos.pdf: 12203832 bytes, checksum: e193cc5eef9d1f8e0dd6df5a35d4cc55 (MD5) doc PPGQ.pdf: 706491 bytes, checksum: 90df4e7187c05b6824acb979f9f1cafd (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-06T17:53:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Deborah Santos.pdf: 12203832 bytes, checksum: e193cc5eef9d1f8e0dd6df5a35d4cc55 (MD5) doc PPGQ.pdf: 706491 bytes, checksum: 90df4e7187c05b6824acb979f9f1cafd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-12-01 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Cathepsin L is a lysosomal cysteine protease, that is related to many physiological processes, however overexpression and up- or downregulation may cause several pathologies. Therefore, cathepsin L became an interesting drug target. Peptidyl epoxides and aziridines are reported as potent cathepsin inhibitors.Previously, our research group has synthesized six new epoxi-α-acyloxycarboxamides through one-pot process starting with an organocatalyzed asymmetric epoxidation using catalyst I followed by Passerini reaction. Then, inhibitory assays against cathepsins K, L and V were performed, and the new compounds presented inhibition, mainly against cathepsin L. In order to further evaluate the structure-activity relationship of epoxi-α-acyloxycarboxamides 11 new compounds were synthesized. Among all, LPSN423 exhibited the best inhibitory activity. The mechanistic study showed that LSPN423 is a reversible tight binding uncompetitive inhibitor, which characterized by a high affinity enzyme-inhibitor complex. To further explore the application of 2,3-epoxi-aldehydes in multicomponent reactions, in addition to create a library of compounds to be evaluated against cathepsin L, Ugi reaction were performed sequentially to epoxidation. The 2-step procedure furnished the desired product with yields ranged from 22% to 68%. The new epoxi-α-acylaminocarboxamides were tested against cathepsin L and no significant activity was observed. The organocatalytic aziridination reaction is reported, however some drawbacks are associated with this reaction, such as the use of chlorinated solvents and large excess of base to promote the reaction. Thus, catalyst I allowed the use of the greener solvent mixture ethanol/water and a lower amount of base. Another drawback of this reaction is the unstable product, so to overcome this issue, the one-pot Passerini reaction was performed, right after the completion of the aziridination; the desired products were obtained from moderate to good yields. Preliminary evaluation of the new aziridine peptidomimetics indicates a potential activity of this class of compounds, although further studies are required. / A catepsina L é uma cisteíno protease lisossomal, que está envolvida em vários processos fisiológicos. Entretanto, falhas na sua expressão e regulação desencadeiam processos patológicos, por esse motivo, a catepsina L se tornou um alvo terapêutico interessante. Peptídeos contendo anéis epóxido e aziridina são reportados como inibidores potentes de catepsinas. Em um estudo prévio desenvolvido pelo nosso grupo de pesquisa, 6 epoxi-α-aciloxicarboxamidas foram sintetizadas de maneira one-pot via reação de epoxidação assimétrica organocatalisada utilizando o catalisador I seguida da reação de Passerini. Testes relacionados à atividade dos compostos como inibidores de catepsinas K, V e L mostraram o potencial da nova classe, sobretudo frente à catepsina L. Neste trabalho, a coleção de epoxi-α-aciloxicarboxamidas foi ampliada com a síntese de mais 11 exemplos, a fim de melhor avaliar a relação estrutura-atividade desta classe de compostos frente à catepsina L. De toda a série, o LPSN423 apresentou a melhor inibição. Estudos sobre o mecanismo de inibição demonstraram que o LSPN423 é um inibidor reversível do tipo tight binding incompetitivo. Neste modo de inibição, o complexo enzima-inibidor apresenta elevada afinidade. Com o intuito de explorar a aplicação dos 2,3-epoxi-aldeídos assimétricos preparados pela metodologia desenvolvida no grupo de pesquisa, bem como criar uma biblioteca de compostos candidatos a inibidores de catepsina L, novas epoxi-α- acilaminocarboxamidas foram sintetizadas, desta vez empregando de forma sequencial a reação multicomponente de Ugi. Os rendimentos em duas etapas variaram de 22-68% para os cinco exemplos sintetizados. Os compostos desta série foram avaliados frente à catepsina L, porém, nenhum deles apresentou atividade inibitória significativa. A síntese de aziridinas assimétricas via organocatálise é reportada tendo como desvantagem a utilização de solventes clorados e excessos de base. O emprego do organocatalisador I proporcionou o uso de etanol:água como solvente e diminuição da quantidade de base. Uma limitação na síntese de β-formilaziridinas está na dificuldade de isolar os produtos, por esse motivo, aplicou-se a funcionalização da aziridina na reação de Passerini one-pot, na qual obteve-se o produto desejado com rendimentos moderados. A avaliação preliminar das aziridinas obtidas frente à inibição da catepsina L indica uma potencial atividade dessa classe de compostos, no entanto estudos mais aprofundados serão necessários. / CNPq: 144095/2014-9

Cette thèse présente une étude théorique de la structure électronique et de la tendance à l'ordre dans les nanoalliages de métaux de transition en se référant au cas des systèmes à base de cobalt-platine (CoPt) qui présentent un intérêt particulier dans les domaines du magnétisme et de la catalyse. Il est ainsi important de décrire au mieux l'évolution de la structure électronique en lien avec la structure atomique ou l'arrangement chimique en fonction de la taille de tels nanoalliages en vue de prédire des propriétés potentielles pouvant différer fortement de celles du matériau massif correspondant. Dans ce contexte, des calculs systématiques de DFT ont été mis en œuvre sur des systèmes modèles simples, alliages massifs, surfaces et nanoparticules, qui ont permis de montrer qu'une règle de neutralité de charge locale, par site espèce et orbitale, s'applique au système CoPt massif et s'étend aux nanoalliages. Sur cette base, des calculs auto cohérents de liaisons fortes ont été développés et ont permis de proposer un moyen précis de prédire les caractéristiques de nanoalliages réalistes, en termes de redistribution des états électroniques et de tendance à l'ordre. Les grandeurs caractéristiques déduites de ces calculs, telles que le désordre diagonal et non diagonal, peuvent être en effet être déterminées à partir de lois simples linéaires de variations des centres et des largeurs de bandes sur les sites Co et Pt. Les valeurs issues de ces lois peuvent être placées sur des cartographies de domaines de tendance à l'ordre et l'ensemble de la méthodologie devrait être étendue facilement à d'autres systèmes binaires. / The interest in alloys of late transition metals arises from their potential applications in high-density magnetic storage devices where they can be used as supported magnetic nanoparticle arrays and as stable, efficient and selective catalysts. The preparation of materials with optimal properties faces a number of technological and physical restrictions and requires an in-depth knowledge of the interplay between structural features on the atomic level and the desired macroscopic properties. In the thesis, after extensive discussion of Density Functional Theory and Tight Binding approaches the work focused on DFT calculations of bulk systems, surfaces and small clusters. The results allow to conclude on general validity of the method and especially to justify the local neutrality assumption in the case of low-coordinated sites in nanoparticles. Basic structural, magnetic and energetic properties were also studied and compared with the experimental data. Subsequently TB calculations were performed and verified with DFT results. The scope of the calculations was then extended for the case of nanoclusters of realistic sizes, unavailable in DFT. Local Densities of State on sites with different chemical environment and coordination numbers were analyzed. The observations prove that basic features of LDOS (d-band centre and d-band width) can be predicted by simple laws on the basis of two terms: a structural term represented by the linear function of the site coordination and a chemical term as a rigid shift which opens a new way to predict the ordering tendency (mapping of the ordering domains) for any transition metal nanoalloy as a function of its size.

Dans cette thèse, nous construisons un modèle de liaisons fortes tridimensionnel minimal pour les cuprates supraconducteurs monocouches à base de lanthane. Celui-ci prend en compte huit orbitales, dont deux d'entre elles impliquent les ions oxygène apicaux. L'optimisation des paramètres microscopiques permet de reproduire presque parfaitement la bande de conduction tridimensionnelle telle qu'elle a été obtenue à partir des calculs DFT. Nous discutons la façon dont chacun des paramètres entrant en jeu dans ce modèle multi-bandes influence la bande de conduction, et nous montrons que la forme particulière de sa dispersion contraint les valeurs des paramètres. Nous mettons alors en évidence que la détermination standard d'un modèle effectif à une bande au travers d'un traitement perturbatif converge lentement en raison de la valeur relativement faible du gap de transfert de charges. A ce stade, cela nous permet, en revanche, de lever le voile sur l'origine microscopique des amplitudes de saut des électrons au sein des plans et en-dehors des plans. Une approche alternative au calcul des paramètres microscopiques de saut du modèle effectif de liaisons fortes est présentée et mise à contribution. Il en résulte que l'accord avec la DFT est préservé à condition que les amplitudes de saut de plus longue portée soient conservées. Une comparaison avec les modèles existants est également effectuée. La surface de Fermi, mettant en exergue des domaines décalés qui alternent en taille et en forme, est comparée à l'expérience. De plus, la densité d'états du modèle est aussi calculée. Une analyse plus approfondie du modèle est réalisée au travers d'une étude en couplage faible des instabilités magnétiques. Les calculs sont effectués sur de grandes cellules et nous avons trouvé une compétition parmi plusieurs instabilités magnétiques tridimensionnelles dans la région d’intérêt du dopage en trous accessible expérimentalement. Bien qu'à notre connaissance cela ne semble pas avoir été évoqué expérimentalement, nous montrons à l'issue de notre étude, que la tendance du modèle à former des ondes de densité de spin incommensurables tridimensionnelles est la plus forte à proximité du dopage 1/8. / In this thesis, we construct a minimal three-dimensional tight-binding model for single-layer La-based cuprate superconductors. It entails eight orbitals, two of them involving apical oxygen ions. Parameter optimization allows to almost perfectly reproduce the three-dimensional conduction band as obtained from DFT. We discuss how each parameter entering this multiband model influences it, and show that the peculiar form of its dispersion severely constraints the parameter values. We then evidence that standard perturbative derivation of an effective one-band model is poorly converging because of the comparatively small value of the charge transfer gap. Yet, this allows us to unravel the microscopical origin of the in-plane and out-of-plane hopping amplitudes. An alternative approach to the computation of the tight-binding parameters of the effective model is presented and worked out. It results that the agreement with DFT is preserved provided longer-ranged hopping amplitudes are retained. A comparison with existing models is performed, too. The Fermi surface, showing staggered pieces alternating in size and shape, is compared to experiment. The density of states is calculated as well. The model is further analyzed through a weak coupling study of magnetic instabilities. It is performed on large clusters and competition between several three-dimensional magnetic instabilities in the hole-doping region of experimental interest is found. We show that the tendency to form a three-dimensional incommensurate spin density wave is strongest in the vicinity of 1/8 doping.

Increasing ubiquity of computational resources has enabled simulation of complex electronic systems and modern materials. The PAOFLOW software package is a tool designed to construct and analyze tight binding Hamiltonians from the solutions of DFT calculations. PAOFLOW leverages localized basis sets to greatly reduce computational costs of post-processing QE simulation results, enabling efficient determination of properties such as electronic density, band structures in the presence of electric or magnetic fields, magnetic or spin circular dichroism, spin-texture, Fermi surfaces, spin or anomalous Hall conductivity (SHC or AHC), electronic transport, and more. PAOFLOW's broad functionality is detailed in this work, and several independent studies where PAOFLOW's capabilities directly enabled research on promising candidates for ferroelectric and spintronic based technologies are described. Today, Quantum computers are at the forefront of computational information science. Materials scientists and quantum chemists can use quantum computers to simulate interacting systems of fermions, without having to perform the iterative methods of classical computing. This dissertation also describes a study where the band structure for silicon is simulated for the first time on quantum hardware and broadens this concept for simulating band structures of generic crystalline structures on quantum machines.

When a nanostructure is coupled between two leads, the electron transmission probability as a function of energy, E, is used in the Landauer formula to obtain the electrical conductance of the nanodevice. The electron transmission probability as a function of energy, T (E), is calculated from the appropriate solution of the time independent Schrödinger equation. Recently, a large class of nanostructures called quantum dragons has been discovered. Quantum dragons are nanodevices with correlated disorder but still can have electron transmission probability unity for all energies when connected to appropriate (idealized) leads. Hence for a single channel setup, the electrical conductivity is quantized. Thus quantum dragons have the minimum electrical conductance allowed by quantum mechanics. These quantum dragons have potential applications in nanoelectronics. It is shown that for dimerized leads coupled to a simple two-slice (l = 2, m = 1) device, the matrix method gives the same expression for the electron transmission probability as renormalization group methods and as the well known Green's function method. If a nanodevice has m atoms per slice, with l slices to calculate the electron transmission probability as a function of energy via the matrix method requires the solution of the inverse of a (2 + ml) (2 + ml) matrix. This matrix to invert is of large dimensions for large m and l. Taking the inverse of such a matrix could be done numerically, but getting an exact solution may not be possible. By using the mapping technique, this reduces this large matrix to invert into a simple (l + 2) (l + 2) matrix to invert, which is easier to handle but has the same solution. By using the map-and-tune approach, quantum dragon solutions are shown to exist for single-layer planar rectangular crystals with different boundary conditions. Each chapter provides two different ways on how to find quantum dragons. This work has experimental relevance, since this could pave the way for planar rectangular nanodevices with zero electrical resistance to be found. In the presence of randomness of the single-band tight-binding parameters in the nanodevice, an interesting quantum mechanical phenomenon called Fano resonance of the electron transmission probability is shown to be observed.

Topological insulators are electronic materials that behave like an ordinary insulator in their bulk but have robust conducting states on their edge. Besides, in some materials the band structure presents completely flat bands, a special feature leading to strong interactions effects. In this thesis we present a study of the edge states of three particular two-dimensional models presenting flat bands: the honeycomb-Kagome, the $\alpha$--graphyne and a ligand decorated honeycomb-Kagome lattice models. We extend earlier work done on these lattice models by focusing on the topological nature of the edge states involving flat bands. We start by giving a review of the band structure theory and the tight-binding approximation. We then present several main topics in two-dimensional topological insulators such as the notion of topological invariants, the Kane-Mele model and the bulk-edge correspondence. Using these theoretical concepts we study the band structure of these lattices firstly without taking into account the spin and spin-orbit interations. We finally add these interactions to get their bulk band structures as well as the edge states. We observe how these spin-orbit interactions relieve degeneracies and allow for the emergence of edge states of topological nature. Since the lattices studied have an arrangement based on the honeycomb-Kagome lattice, two-dimensional materials having the structures of these lattices can be designed assembling metal ions and organic ligands. Therefore the results obtained could be used as a first hint to create new two-dimensional materials presenting topological properties. / Topologiska isolatorer är elektroniska material som uppför sig som en vanlig isolator i sin bulk men har robusta ledande stater på kanten. Dessutom presenterar bandstrukturen i vissa material helt platta band, en speciell egenskap som leder till starka interaktionseffekter. I denna avhandling presenterar vi en studie av kanttillstånden för tre speciella tvådimensionella modeller som presenterar platta band: bikakan-Kagome, $\alpha$-grafynen och en liganddekorerad honungskaka-Kagome modeller. Vi utökar tidigare arbete med dessa gittermodeller genom att fokusera på den topologiska karaktären hos kanttillstånd som innefattar platta band. Vi börjar med att ge en genomgång av bandstruktursteorin och den tätt bindande approximationen. Vi presenterar sedan flera huvudämnen i tvådimensionella topologiska isolatorer såsom begreppet topologiska invarianter, Kane-Mele modellen och bulk-kant korrespondensen. Med hjälp av dessa teoretiska begrepp studerar vi bandstrukturen för dessa gitter först utan att ta hänsyn till spinnen och spinnsorbital interaktioner. Vi lägger sedan till dessa interaktioner för att få sina bulkbandstrukturer såväl som kanttillstånden. Vi observerar hur dessa spinnsorbital interaktioner lindrar degenerationer och möjliggör uppkomsten av kanttillstånd av topologisk naturen. Eftersom de undersökta gitterna har ett arrangemang baserat på honungskaka-Kagome gitteren, kan tvådimensionella material med strukturerna hos dessa gitter utformas genom att montera metalljoner och organiska ligander. Därför kan de erhållna resultaten användas som en första ledtråd för att skapa nya tvådimensionella material med topologiska egenskaper.