arXiv subjects

Aftab Alam

Publications and source records attributed to Aftab Alam.

104 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

Low-energy, planar magnetic defects in BaFe2As2: nanotwins, twins, antiphase and domain boundaries

In BaFe2As2, structural and magnetic planar defects begin to proliferate below the structural phase transition, affecting descriptions of magnetism and superconductivity. We study using density-functional theory the stability and magnetic properties of competing antiphase and domain boundaries, twins and isolated $nano$twins (twin nuclei) - spin excitations proposed and/or observed. These nanoscale defects have very low surface energy ($22$-$210$~$m$Jm$^{-2}$), with twins favorable to the mesoscale. Defects exhibit smaller moments confined near their boundaries -- making a uniform-moment picture inappropriate for long-range magnetic order in real samples. {\it{Nano}}twins explain features in measured pair distribution functions, so should be considered when analyzing scattering data. All these defects can be weakly mobile and/or have fluctuations that lower assessed "ordered" moments from longer spatial and/or time averaging, and should be considered directly.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Mixed valency and site-preference chemistry for Cerium and its compounds: A predictive DFT study

Cerium and its technologically relevant compounds are examples of anomalous mixed valency, originating from two competing oxidation states -- itinerant Ce$^{3+}$ and localized Ce$^{4+}$. Under applied stress, anomalous transitions are observed but not well understood. Here we treat mixed valency as an "alloy" involving two valences with competing and numerous site-occupancy configurations, and we use density functional theory with Hubbard U ($i.e.$, DFT+U) to evaluate the effective valence and predict properties, including controlling valence by pseudo-ternary alloying. For Ce and its compounds, such as (Ce-La)$_2$(Fe-Co)$_{14}$B permanent magnets, we find a stable mixed-valent $α$-state near the spectroscopic value of $ν_s=3.53$. Ce valency in compounds depends on its steric volume and local chemistry; for La doping, Ce-valency shifts towards $γ$-like Ce$^{3+}$, as expected from steric volume; for Co doping, valency depends on local Ce-site chemistry and steric volume. Our approach captures the key origins of anomalous valency and site-preference chemistry in complex compounds.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

Effect of disorder on the electronic properties of graphene: a theoretical approach

In order to manipulate the properties of graphene, its very important to understand the electronic structure in presence of disorder. We investigate, within a tight-binding description, the effects of disorder in the on-site (diagonal disorder) term in the Hamiltonian as well as in the hopping integral (off-diagonal disorder) on the electronic dispersion and density of states by augmented space recursion method. Extrinsic off-diagonal disorder is shown to have dramatic effects on the two-dimensional Dirac-cone, including asymmetries in the band structures as well as the presence of discontinuous bands in certain limits. Disorder-induced broadening, related to the scattering length (or life-time) of electrons, is modified significantly with the increasing strength of disorder. We propose that our theory is suitable to study the effects of disorder in other 2D materials, e.g., a boron nitride monolayer.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Structural Properties and Relative Stability of (Meta)Stable Ordered, Partially-ordered and Disordered Al-Li Alloy Phases

We resolve issues that have plagued reliable prediction of relative phase stability for solid-solutions and compounds. Due to its commercially important phase diagram, we showcase Al-Li system because historically density-functional theory (DFT) results show large scatter and limited success in predicting the structural properties and stability of solid-solutions relative to ordered compounds. Using recent advances in an optimal basis-set representation of the topology of electronic charge density (and, hence, atomic size), we present DFT results that agree reasonably well with all known experimental data for the structural properties and formation energies of ordered, off-stoichiometric partially-ordered and disordered alloys, opening the way for reliable study in complex alloys.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2011

Accurate and fast numerical solution of Poisson's equation for arbitrary, space-filling Voronoi polyhedra: near-field corrections revisited

We present an accurate and rapid solution of Poisson's equation for space-filling, arbitrarily- shaped, convex Voronoi polyhedra (VP); the method is O(NVP), where NVP is the number of distinct VP representing the system. In effect, we resolve the longstanding problem of fast but accurate numerical solution of the near-field corrections (NFC), contributions to each VP potential from nearby VP - typically involving multipole-type conditionally-convergent sums, or fast Fourier transforms. Our method avoids all ill-convergent sums, is simple, accurate, efficient, and works generally, i.e., for periodic solids, molecules, or systems with disorder or imperfections. We demonstrate the method's practicality by numerical calculations compared to exactly solvable models.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2011

Thermal conductivity and diffusion-mediated localization in Fe_{1-x}Cr_{x} Alloys

We apply a new Kubo-Greenwood type formula combined with a generalized Feynman diagram- matic technique to report a first principles calculation of the thermal transport properties of disordered Fe_{1-x}Cr_{x} alloys. The diagrammatic approach simplifies the inclusion of disorder-induced scattering effects on the two particle correlation functions and hence renormalizes the heat current operator to calculate configuration averaged lattice thermal conductivity and diffusivity. The thermal conductivity K(T) in the present case shows an approximate quadratic T-dependence in the low temperature regime (T < 20 K), which subsequently rises smoothly to a T-independent saturated value at high T . A numerical estimate of mobility edge from the thermal diffusivity data yields the fraction of localized states. It is concluded that the complex disorder scattering processes, in force-constant dominated disorder alloys such as Fe-Cr, tend to localize the vibrational modes quite significantly.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2011

Chemically-Mediated quantum criticality in NbFe_2

Laves-phase Nb{1+c}Fe_{2-c} is a rare itinerant intermetallic compound exhibiting magnetic quantum criticality at c_{cr}=1.5%Nb excess; its origin, and how alloying mediates it, remains an enigma. For NbFe_2, we show that an unconventional band critical point (uBCP) above the Fermi level E_F explains most observations, and that chemical alloying mediates access to this uBCP by an increase in E_F with decreasing electrons (increasing %Nb), counter to rigid-band concepts. We calculate that E_F enters the uBCP region for c_{cr} > 1.5%Nb and by 1.74%Nb there is no Nb site-occupation preference between symmetry-distinct Fe sites, i.e., no electron-hopping disorder, making resistivity near constant as observed. At larger Nb (Fe) excess, the ferromagnetic Stoner criterion is satisfied.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2011

Efficient Isoparametric Integration over Arbitrary, Space-Filling Voronoi Polyhedra for Electronic-Structure Calculations

A numerically efficient, accurate, and easily implemented integration scheme over convex Voronoi polyhedra (VP) is presented for use in {\it ab-initio} electronic-structure calculations. We combine a weighted Voronoi tessellation with isoparametric integration via Gauss-Legendre quadratures to provide rapidly convergent VP integrals for a variety of integrands, including those with a Coulomb singularity. We showcase the capability of our approach by first applying to an analytic charge-density model achieving machine-precision accuracy with expected convergence properties in milliseconds. For contrast, we compare our results to those using shape-functions and show our approach is greater than $10^{5}$ faster and $10^{7}$ more accurate. A weighted Voronoi tessellation also allows for a physics-based partitioning of space that guarantees convex, space-filling VP while reflecting accurate atomic size and site charges, as we show within KKR methods applied to Fe-Pd alloys.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2006

Phonons in disordered alloys : a multiple scattering approach

In this paper we shall discuss the effect of disorder induced configuration fluctuations on single particle and two-particle phonon Green functions in substitutional random binary alloys. The randomness of the system will be dealt within the augmented space theorem, introduced by one of us [J. Phys. C : Solid State Phys. 6, L205(1973)]. This will be combined with a generalized Edwards-Langer diagrammatic technique to extract various useful results in the form of mathematical expressions. The purpose of present manuscript will be to describe the scattering diagrams in full detail. This will form the basis of the calculational algorithms which we had used in an earlier paper on NiPd and NiPt alloys [J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 18, 4589-4608 (2006)]. We shall show the structure of all possible scattering diagrams up to the 4-th order and subsequently illustrate how to obtain Dyson's equation from a re-summation of the diagrammatic series. We shall also study how disorder scattering affects two-particle Green functions associated with thermal response. We shall show that disorder scattering renormalizes both the phonon propagators as well as the heat currents. These renormalized heat currents will be shown to be related to the self-energy of the propagators. We shall also study a different class of scattering diagrams which are not related to the self-energy but rather to the vertex corrections.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2006

An augmented space approach to the study of phonons in disordered alloys : comparison between the itinerant coherent-potential approximation and the augmented space recursion

A first principles density functional based linear response theory (the so called Density Functional Perturbation theory \cite{dfpt}) has been combined separately with two recently developed formalism for a systematic study of the lattice dynamics in disordered binary alloys. The two formalisms are the Augmented space recursion (ASR) and the Itinerant coherent potential approximation (ICPA). The two different theories (DFPT-ASR and DFPT-ICPA) systematically provides a hierarchy of improvements upon the earlier single site based theories (like CPA etc.) and includes non-local correlations in the disorder configurations. The formalisms explicitly take into account fluctuations in masses, force constants and scattering lengths. The combination of DFPT with these formulation helps in understanding the actual interplay of force constants in alloys. We illustrate the methods by applying to a fcc Fe$_{50}$Pd$_{50}$ alloy.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2006

Lattice thermal conductivity of disordered NiPd and NiPt alloys

Numerical calculations of lattice thermal conductivity are reported for the binary alloys NiPd and NiPt. The present work is a continuation of an earlier paper by us [PRB, 72, 214207 (2005)]which had developed a theoretical framework for the calculation of configuration-averaged lattice thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity in disordered alloys. The formulation was based on the augmented space theorem combined with a scattering diagram technique. In this paper we shall show dependence of the lattice thermal conductivity on a series of variables like phonon frequency, temperature and alloy composition. The temperature dependence of $κ(T)$ and its realtion to the measured thermal conductivity is discussed. The concentration dependence of $κ$ appears to justify the notion of a minimum thermal conductivity as discussed by Kittel, Slack and others. We also study the frequency and composition dependence of the thermal diffusivity averaged over modes. A numerical estimate of this quantity gives an idea about the location of mobility edge and the fraction of states in the frequency spectrum which is delocalized.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2005

Lattice thermal conductivity of disordered binary alloys : a formulation

We present here a formulation for the calculation of the configuration averaged lattice thermal conductivity in random alloys. Our formulation is based on the augmented-space theorem, introduced by one of us, combined with a generalized diagrammatic technique. The diagrammatic approach simplifies the problem of including effects of disorder corrections to a great extent. The approach allows us to obtain an expression for the effective heat current in case of disordered alloys, which in turn is used in a Kubo-Greenwood type formula for the thermal conductivity. We show that disorder scattering renormalizes the phonon propagators as well as the heat currents. The corrections to the current terms have been shown to be related to the self-energy of the propagators. We also study the effect of vertex corrections in a simplified ladder diagram approximation. A mode dependent diffusivity $D_γ$ and then a total thermal diffusivity averaged over different modes are defined. Schemes for implementing the said formalism are discussed. A few initial numerical results on the frequency and temperature dependence of lattice thermal conductivity are presented for NiPd alloy and are also compared with experiment. We also display numerical results on the frequency dependence of thermal diffusivity averaged over modes.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2004

Inelastic neutron scattering in random binary alloys : an augmented space approach

Combining the augmented space representation for phonons with a generalized version of Yonezawa-Matsubara diagrammatic technique, we have set up a formalism to seperate the coherent and incoherent part of the total intensity of thermal neutron scattering from disordered alloys. This is done exacly without taking any recourse to mean-field like approximation (as done previously). The formalism includes disorder in masses, force constants and scattering lengths. Implementation of the formalism to realistic situations is performed by an augmented space Block recursion which calculates entire Green matrix and self energy matrix which in turn is needed to evaluate the coherent and incoherent intensities. we apply the formalism to NiPd and NiPt alloys. Numerical results on coherent and incoherent scattering cross sections are presented along the highest symmetry directions. Finally the incoherent intensities are compared with the CPA and also with experiments.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2003

Vibrational properties of phonons in random binary alloys: An augmented space recursive technique in the k-representation

We present here an augmented space recursive technique in the k-representation which include diagonal, off-diagonal and the environmental disorder explicitly : an analytic, translationally invariant, multiple scattering theory for phonons in random binary alloys.We propose the augmented space recursion (ASR) as a computationally fast and accurate technique which will incorporate configuration fluctuations over a large local environment. We apply the formalism to $Ni_{55}Pd_{45}$, $Ni_{88}Cr_12}$ and $Ni_{50}Pt_{50}$ alloys which is not a random choice. Numerical results on spectral functions, coherent structure factors, dispersion curves and disordered induced FWHM's are presented. Finally the results are compared with the recent itinerant coherent potential approximation (ICPA) and also with experiments.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗