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arXiv · 1702.00411

Non-linear conductivity of metals from real-time quantum simulations

Xavier Andrade·Sebastien Hamel·Alfredo A. Correa
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Abstract

We simulate bulk materials under strong currents by following in real-time the dynamics of the electrons under an electric field. By changing the intensity of the electric field, our method can model, for the first time, non-linear effects in the conductivity from first principles. To illustrate our approach, we show calculations that predict that liquid aluminum exhibits negative-differential conductivity for current densities of the order of $10^{12}-10^{13}~\mathrm{A/cm^2}$. We find that the change in the non-linear conductivity emerges from a competition between the accumulation of charge around the nuclei that increases the scattering of the conduction electrons, and a decreasing scattering cross-section at high currents.

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Xavier Andrade, Sebastien Hamel, Alfredo A. Correa. 2017-02-01. Non-linear conductivity of metals from real-time quantum simulations. https://arxiv.org/abs/1702.00411

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