arXiv subjects

David R. Reichman

Publications and source records attributed to David R. Reichman.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2024

Microscopic Theory of Density Scaling: Coarse-Graining in Space and Time

Understanding the structure and dynamics of liquids is pivotal for the study of larger spatiotemporal processes, especially in glass-forming materials at low temperatures. Density scaling, observed in many molecular systems through experiments, offers an efficient means for exploring a vast range of time scales along a one-dimensional phase diagram. However, the theoretical foundation provided by isomorph theory is of limited use for molecular systems, since currently no first-principles theory exists that can explain the origins of density scaling or make predictions based on it. In this work, we propose a first-principles framework employing coarse-graining in space and time. Spatial coarse-graining reduces a molecule to a center-of-mass-level description by eliminating fast degrees of freedom, while temporal coarse-graining involves averaging fluctuations or correlation functions over characteristic time scales. We show that both approaches enable ab initio estimation of the density scaling coefficient for ortho-terphenyl, consistent with experimental values. Building on these findings, we employ excess entropy scaling to derive a microscopic theory that underpins density scaling from fully atomistic simulations. Our results illuminate the role of coarse-graining in assessing slow fluctuations in molecules and unravel the microscopic nature of density scaling. Ultimately, our proposed framework enables systematic bottom-up approaches for predicting transport coefficients that are otherwise experimentally inaccessible and computationally prohibitive.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2024

Coupling of Electronic Transitions to Ferroelectric Order in a 2D Semiconductor

A ferroelectric material often exhibits a soft transvers optical (TO) phonon mode which governs it phase transition. Charge coupling to this ferroelectric soft mode may further mediate emergent physical properties, including superconductivity and defect tolerance. However, direct experimental evidence for such coupling is scarce. Here we show that a photo-launched coherent phonon couples strongly to electronic transitions across the bandgap in the van der Waals (vdW) two-dimensional (2D) ferroelectric semiconductor NbOI2. Using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy and first-principles calculations, we identify this mode as the TO phonon responsible for ferroelectric order. This exclusive coupling occurs only with above-gap electronic transition and is absent in the valence band as revealed by resonant inelastic X-ray scattering. Our findings suggest a new role of the soft TO phonon mode in electronic and optical properties of ferroelectric semiconductors.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Simulating anharmonic vibrational polaritons beyond the long wavelength approximation

In this work we investigate anharmonic vibrational polaritons formed due to strong light-matter interactions in an optical cavity between radiation modes and anharmonic vibrations beyond the long-wavelength limit. We introduce a conceptually simple description of light-matter interactions, where spatially localized cavity radiation modes couple to localized vibrations. Within this theoretical framework, we employ self-consistent phonon theory and vibrational dynamical mean-field theory to efficiently simulate momentum-resolved vibrational-polariton spectra, including effects of anharmonicity. Numerical simulations in model systems demonstrate the accuracy and applicability of our approach.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Scalable Ab Initio Electronic Structure Methods with Near Chemical Accuracy for Main Group Chemistry

This study evaluates the precision of widely recognized quantum chemical methodologies, CCSD(T), DLPNO-CCSD(T) and localized ph-AFQMC, for determining the thermochemistry of main group elements. DLPNO-CCSD(T) and localized ph-AFQMC, which offer greater scalability compared to canonical CCSD(T), have emerged over the last decade as pivotal in producing precise benchmark chemical data. Our investigation includes closed-shell, neutral molecules, focusing on their heat of formation and atomization energy sourced from four specific small molecule datasets. Firstly, we selected molecules from the G2 and G3 datasets, noted for their reliable experimental heat of formation data. Additionally, we incorporate molecules from the W4-11 and W4-17 sets, which provide high-level theoretical reference values for atomization energy at 0 K. Our findings reveal that both DLPNO-CCSD(T) and ph-AFQMC methods are capable of achieving a root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) of less than 1 kcal/mol across the combined dataset, aligning with the threshold for chemical accuracy. Moreover, we make efforts to confine the maximum deviations within 2 kcal/mol, a degree of precision that significantly broadens the applicability of these methods in fields such as biology and materials science.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2024

Tensor network influence functionals in the continuous-time limit: connections to quantum embedding, bath discretization, and higher-order time propagation

We describe two developments of tensor network influence functionals (in particular, influence functional matrix product states (IF-MPS)) for quantum impurity dynamics within the fermionic setting of the Anderson impurity model. The first provides the correct extension of the IF-MPS to continuous time by introducing a related mathematical object, the boundary influence functional MPS. The second connects the dynamics described by a compressed IF-MPS to that of a quantum embedding method with a time-dependent effective bath undergoing nonunitary dynamics. Using these concepts, we implement higher-order time propagators for the quench dynamics of the Anderson impurity model within the boundary IF-MPS formalism. The calculations illustrate the ability of the current formulation to efficiently remove the time step error in standard discrete-time IF-MPS implementations as well as to interface with state vector propagation techniques. They also show the advantages of IF-MPS dynamics, with its associated highly compact effective bath dynamics, over state vector propagation with a static bath discretization.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Correlation Functions From Tensor Network Influence Functionals: The Case of the Spin-Boson Model

We investigate the application of matrix product state (MPS) representations of the influence functionals (IF) for the calculation of real-time equilibrium correlation functions in open quantum systems. Focusing specifically on the unbiased spin-boson model, we explore the use of IF-MPSs for complex time propagation, as well as IF-MPSs for constructing correlation functions in the steady state. We examine three different IF approaches: one based on the Kadanoff-Baym contour targeting correlation functions at all times, one based on a complex contour targeting the correlation function at a single time, and a steady state formulation which avoids imaginary or complex times, while providing access to correlation functions at all times. We show that within the IF language, the steady state formulation provides a powerful approach to evaluate equilibrium correlation functions.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2024

Benchmarking the Exponential Ansatz for the Holstein model

Polarons are quasiparticles formed as a result of lattice distortions induced by charge carriers. The single-electron Holstein model captures the fundamentals of single polaron physics. We examine the power of the exponential ansatz for the polaron ground-state wavefunction in its coupled cluster, canonical transformation, and (canonically transformed) perturbative variants across the parameter space of the Holstein model. Our benchmark serves to guide future developments of polaron wavefunctions beyond the single-electron Holstein model.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Ab Initio Polaron Wave Functions

In this work we demonstrate that accurate ground state wave functions may be constructed for polarons in a fully ab initio setting across the wide range of couplings associated with both the large and small polaron limits. We present a single general unitary transformation approach which encompasses an ab initio version of the Lee-Low-Pines theory at weak coupling and the coherent state Landau-Pekar framework at strong coupling while interpolating between these limits in general cases. We show that perturbation theory around these limits may be performed in a facile manner to assess the accuracy of the approach, as well as provide an independent route to the ab initio properties of polarons. We test these ideas on the case of LiF, where the electron-polaron is expected to be large and relatively weakly coupled, while the hole-polaron is expected to be a strongly coupled small polaron.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Dynamical Facilitation Governs the Equilibration Dynamics of Glasses

Convincing evidence of domain growth in the heating of ultrastable glasses suggests that the equilibration dynamics of super-cooled liquids could be driven by a nucleation and growth mechanism. We investigate this possibility by simulating the equilibration dynamics of a model glass during both heating and cooling between poorly and well-annealed states. Though we do observe the growth of domains during heating, we find that domains are absent during cooling. This absence is inconsistent with classical nucleation theory. By comparing the equilibration dynamics of our glass with that of two models with kinetic constraints, we demonstrate that dynamical facilitation generically leads to heating driven by domain growth and cooling without domains. Our results provide strong evidence that dynamical facilitation, not nucleation and interfacial-tension-driven domain growth, is the driving mechanism for the equilibration dynamics of glass-formers.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2024

Investigating the Collective Nature of Cavity Modified Chemical Kinetics under Vibrational Strong Coupling

In this paper we develop quantum dynamical methods capable of treating the dynamics of chemically reacting systems in an optical cavity in the vibrationally strong-coupling (VSC) limit at finite temperatures and in the presence of a dissipative solvent in both the few and many molecule limits. In the context of two simple models we demonstrate how reactivity in the {\em collective} VSC regime does not exhibit altered rate behavior in equilibrium, but may exhibit resonant cavity modification of reactivity when the system is explicitly out of equilibrium. Our results suggest experimental protocols that may be used to modify reactivity in the collective regime and point to features not included in the models studied which demand further scrutiny.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Hierarchical Framework for Predicting Entropies in Bottom-Up Coarse-Grained Models

The thermodynamic entropy of coarse-grained (CG) models stands as one of the most important properties for quantifying the missing information during the CG process and for establishing transferable (or extendible) CG interactions. However, performing additional CG simulations on top of model construction often leads to significant additional computational overhead. In this work, we propose a simple hierarchical framework for predicting the thermodynamic entropies of various molecular CG systems. Our approach employs a decomposition of the CG interactions, enabling the estimation of the CG partition function and thermodynamic properties a priori. Starting from the ideal gas description, we leverage classical perturbation theory to systematically incorporate simple yet essential interactions, ranging from the hard sphere model to the generalized van der Waals model. Additionally, we propose an alternative approach based on multiparticle correlation functions, allowing for systematic improvements through higher-order correlations. Numerical applications to molecular liquids validate the high fidelity of our approach, and our computational protocols demonstrate that a reduced model with simple energetics can reasonably estimate the thermodynamic entropy of CG models without performing any CG simulations. Overall, our findings present a systematic framework for estimating not only the entropy but also other thermodynamic properties of CG models, relying solely on information from the reference system.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2024

Variational Lang-Firsov approach plus Møller-Plesset perturbation theory with applications to ab initio polariton chemistry

We apply the Lang-Firsov (LF) transformation to electron-boson coupled Hamiltonians and variationally optimize the transformation parameters and molecular orbital coefficients to determine the ground state. Møller-Plesset (MP-$n$, with $n = 2$ and $4$) perturbation theory is then performed on top of the optimized LF mean-field state to improve the description of electron-electron and electron-boson correlations. The method (LF-MP) is applied to several electron-boson coupled systems, including the Hubbard-Holstein model, diatomic molecule dissociation ($\text{H}_2$, $\text{HF}$), and the modification of proton transfer reactions (malonaldehyde and aminopropenal) via the formation of polaritons in an optical cavity. We show that with a correction for the electron-electron correlation, the method gives quantitatively accurate energies comparable to exact diagonalization or coupled-cluster theory. The effect of multiple photon modes, spin polarization, and the comparison to the coherent state MP theory are also discussed.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2023

Competing Generalized Wigner Crystal States in Moiré Heterostructures

We present a comprehensive study of generalized Wigner crystals across various filling factors for system sizes up to 162 holes employing Hartree-Fock theory and explicitly correlated wave function approaches. While we find broad agreement with the behavior observed in experiments and classical Monte Carlo simulations, we highlight the fact that the Hartree-Fock energy landscape appears to be remarkably complex, exhibiting many competing states, both ordered and disordered, separated by energies of a fraction of $\sim$ 1 meV/hole. We demonstrate which of the located states are metastable by performing a stability analysis at the Hartree-Fock level. Correlated wave function methods furthermore reveal small correlation energies that are nevertheless large enough to tip the balance of state ordering found within Hartree-Fock theory.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Perturbative Expansion in Reciprocal Space: Bridging Microscopic and Mesoscopic Descriptions of Molecular Interactions

Determining the Fourier representation of various molecular interactions is important for constructing density-based field theories from a microscopic point of view, enabling a multiscale bridge between microscopic and mesoscopic descriptions. However, due to the strongly repulsive nature of short-ranged interactions, interparticle interactions cannot be formally defined in Fourier space, which renders coarse-grained approaches in $\textit{k}$-space somewhat ambiguous. In this paper, we address this issue by designing a perturbative expansion of pair interactions in reciprocal space. Our perturbation theory, starting from reciprocal space, elucidates the microscopic origins underlying zeroth-order (long-range attractions) and divergent repulsive interactions from higher-order contributions. We propose a systematic framework for constructing a faithful Fourier space representation of molecular interactions, capturing key structural correlations in various systems, including simple model systems and molecular coarse-grained models of liquids. Building upon the Ornstein-Zernike equation, our approach can be combined with appropriate closure relations, and to further improve the closure approximations, we develop a bottom-up parametrization strategy for inferring the bridge function from microscopic statistics. By incorporating the bridge function into the Fourier representation, our findings suggest a systematic, bottom-up approach to performing coarse-graining in reciprocal space, leading to the systematic construction of a bottom-up classical field theory of complex aqueous systems.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2023

Response properties in phaseless auxiliary field quantum Monte Carlo

We present a method for calculating first-order response properties in phaseless auxiliary field quantum Monte Carlo (AFQMC) through the application of automatic differentiation (AD). Biases and statistical efficiency of the resulting estimators are discussed. Our approach demonstrates that AD enables the calculation of reduced density matrices (RDMs) with the same computational cost scaling as energy calculations, accompanied by a cost prefactor of less than four in our numerical calculations. We investigate the role of self-consistency and trial orbital choice in property calculations.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2023

Correlated Anharmonicity and Dynamic Disorder Control Carrier Transport in Halide Perovskites

Halide pervoskites are an important class of semiconducting materials which hold great promise for optoelectronic applications. In this work we investigate the relationship between vibrational anharmonicity and dynamic disorder in this class of solids. Via a multi-scale model parameterized from first-principles calculations, we demonstrate that the non-Gaussian lattice motion in halide perovskites is microscopically connected to the dynamic disorder of overlap fluctuations among electronic states. This connection allows us to rationalize the emergent differences in temperature-dependent mobilities of prototypical MAPbI$_3$ and MAPbBr$_3$ compounds across structural phase-transitions, in agreement with experimental findings. Our analysis suggests that the details of vibrational anharmonicity and dynamic disorder can complement known predictors of electronic conductivity and can provide structure-property guidelines for the tuning of carrier transport characteristics in anharmonic semiconductors.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

The Design of New Practical Constraints in Auxiliary-Field Quantum Monte Carlo

We formulate and characterize a new constraint for Auxiliary Field Quantum Monte Carlo (AFQMC) applicable for general fermionic systems, which allows for the accumulation of phase in the random walk but disallows walkers with a magnitude of phase greater than $π$ with respect to the trial wave function. For short imaginary times, before walkers accumulate sizable phase values, this approach is equivalent to exact free projection, allowing one to observe the accumulation of bias associated with the constraint and thus estimate its magnitude \textit{a priori}. We demonstrate the stability of this constraint over arbitrary imaginary times and system sizes, highlighting the removal of noise due to the fermionic sign problem. Benchmark total energies for a variety of weakly and strongly correlated molecular systems reveal a distinct bias with respect to standard phaseless AFQMC, with a comparative increase in accuracy given a sufficient quality of trial wave function for the set of studied cases. We then take this constraint, referred to as linecut (lc-) AFQMC, and systematically release it (lcR-AFQMC), providing a route to obtain a smooth bridge between constrained AFQMC and the exact free projection results.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2023

Ultrafast imaging of polariton propagation and interactions

Semiconductor excitations can hybridize with cavity photons to form exciton-polaritons (EPs) with remarkable properties, including light-like energy flow combined with matter-like interactions. To fully harness these properties, EPs must retain ballistic, coherent transport despite matter-mediated interactions with lattice phonons. Here we develop a nonlinear momentum-resolved optical approach that directly images EPs in real space on femtosecond scales in a range of polaritonic architectures. We focus our analysis on EP propagation in layered halide perovskite microcavities. We reveal that EP-phonon interactions lead to a large renormalization of EP velocities at high excitonic fractions at room temperature. Despite these strong EP-phonon interactions, ballistic transport is maintained for up to half-exciton EPs, in agreement with quantum simulations of dynamic disorder shielding through light-matter hybridization. Above 50% excitonic character, rapid decoherence leads to diffusive transport. Our work provides a general framework to precisely balance EP coherence, velocity, and nonlinear interactions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗