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Guangzong Xing

Publications and source records attributed to Guangzong Xing.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

Exchange splitting as a descriptor for giant anomalous Hall and Nernst effects in ferromagnets

The anomalous Hall effect (AHE) and anomalous Nernst effect (ANE), which describe transverse electrical and thermoelectric responses in magnetic materials, respectively, are promising for spintronic and energy-harvesting applications. Here, we employ high-throughput first-principles calculations to investigate 2251 chemically substituted tetragonal $L1_0$ alloys. Among ferromagnets, enhanced responses emerge preferentially in alloys derived from parent compounds with small exchange splitting: no alloy derived from FePt, the archetypal $L1_0$ ferromagnet, reaches the high-response regime, whereas NiPt- and CoIr-derived alloys occupy it in large numbers. Small exchange splitting keeps majority- and minority-spin bands near the Fermi level, giving chemical substitution more opportunity to modify near-Fermi-level band crossings and amplify the Berry curvature. We predict a giant anomalous Hall conductivity of $2809\,\mathrm{S\,cm^{-1}}$ in (Co$_{0.8}$Fe$_{0.2}$)(Ir$_{0.7}$Pt$_{0.3}$) and a giant anomalous Nernst conductivity of $7.72\,\mathrm{A\,m^{-1}\,K^{-1}}$ in (Ni$_{0.8}$Co$_{0.2}$)(Pt$_{0.7}$Ir$_{0.3}$). Our results identify the exchange splitting of the parent compound as a descriptor for chemical tunability toward giant Berry-curvature-driven transport responses.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Chemical-substitution-driven giant anomalous Hall and Nernst effects in magnetic cubic Heusler compounds

Chemical substitution efficiently optimizes the physical properties of Heusler compounds, especially their anomalous transport properties, including anomalous Hall conductivity (AHC) and anomalous Nernst conductivity (ANC). This study systematically investigates the effect of chemical substitution on AHC and ANC in 1493 magnetic cubic Heusler compounds using high-throughput first-principles calculations. Notable trends emerge in Co- and Rh-based compounds, where chemical substitution effectively enhances the AHC and ANC. Intriguingly, certain chemically substituted candidates exhibit outstanding enhancement in AHCs and ANCs, such as (Co$_{0.8}$Ni$_{0.2}$)$_2$FeSn with considerable AHC and ANC values of $-2567.78$ S cm$^{-1}$ and $8.27$ A m$^{-1}$K$^{-1}$, respectively, and (Rh$_{0.8}$Ru$_{0.2}$)$_2$MnIn with an AHC of $1950.49$ S cm$^{-1}$. In particular, an extraordinary ANC of $8.57$ A m$^{-1}$K$^{-1}$ is identified exclusively in Rh$_2$Co$_{0.7}$Fe$_{0.3}$In, nearly double the maximum value of $4.36$ A m$^{-1}$K$^{-1}$ observed in the stoichiometric Rh$_2$CoIn. A comprehensive band structure analysis underscores that the notable enhancement in ANC arises from the creation and modification of the energy-dependent nodal lines through chemical substitution. This mechanism generates a robust Berry curvature, resulting in significant ANCs. These findings emphasize the pivotal role of chemical substitution in engineering high-performance materials, thereby expanding the horizons of transport property optimization within Heusler compounds.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

First-principles prediction of phase transition of YCo$_5$ from self-consistent phonon calculations

Recent theoretical study has shown that the hexagonal YCo$_5$ is dynamically unstable and distorts into a stable orthorhombic structure. In this study, we show theoretically that the orthorhombic phase is energetically more stable than the hexagonal phase in the low-temperature region, while the phonon entropy stabilizes the hexagonal phase thermodynamically in the high-temperature region. The orthorhombic-to-hexagonal phase transition temperature is $\sim$165 K, which is determined using the self-consistent phonon calculations. We investigate the magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy (MAE) using the self-consistent and non-self-consistent (force theorem) calculations with the spin-orbit interaction (SOI) along with the Hubbard $U$ correction. Then, we find that the orthorhombic phase has similar MAE, orbital moment, and its anisotropy to the hexagonal phase when the self-consistent calculation with the SOI is performed. Since the orthorhombic phase still gives magnetic properties comparable to the experiments, the orthorhombic distortion is potentially realized in the low-temperature region, which awaits experimental exploration.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

An invertible crystallographic representation for general inverse design of inorganic crystals with targeted properties

Realizing general inverse design could greatly accelerate the discovery of new materials with user-defined properties. However, state-of-the-art generative models tend to be limited to a specific composition or crystal structure. Herein, we present a framework capable of general inverse design (not limited to a given set of elements or crystal structures), featuring a generalized invertible representation that encodes crystals in both real and reciprocal space, and a property-structured latent space from a variational autoencoder (VAE). In three design cases, the framework generates 142 new crystals with user-defined formation energies, bandgap, thermoelectric (TE) power factor, and combinations thereof. These generated crystals, absent in the training database, are validated by first-principles calculations. The success rates (number of first-principles-validated target-satisfying crystals/number of designed crystals) ranges between 7.1% and 38.9%. These results represent a significant step toward property-driven general inverse design using generative models, although practical challenges remain when coupled with experimental synthesis.

physics.comp-ph

Lattice dynamics and its effects on magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy of pristine and hole-doped YCo$_5$ from first principles

We study the lattice dynamics effects on the phase stability and magnetocrystalline anisotropy (MCA) energy of CaCu$_5$-type YCo$_5$ at finite temperatures using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory (DFT). Harmonic lattice dynamics (HLD) calculations indicate that YCo$_5$ with 56 full valance electrons is dynamically unstable and this instability can be cured by reducing the number of electrons ($N_e$). Crystal orbital Hamilton population analysis reveals that the observed phonon instability originates from the large population of antibonding states near the Fermi level, which is dominated by the Co atoms in the honeycomb layer. The antibonding state depopulates with decreasing $N_e$, resulting in stable phonons for hole-doped YCo$_5$ with $N_e$ $\leq$ 55. We then evaluate the temperature-dependent MCA energy using both HLD and $ab$ $initio$ molecular dynamics (AIMD) methods. For the pristine YCo$_5$, we observe a very weak temperature decay of the MCA energy, indicating little effect of lattice dynamics. Also, the MCA energies evaluated with AIMD at all target temperatures are larger than that of the static hexagonal lattice at 0 K, which is mainly attributed to the structural distortion driven by soft phonon modes. In the hole-doped YCo$_5$, where the distortion is suppressed, a considerable temperature decay in MCA energy is obtained both in HLD and AIMD methods, showing that lattice dynamics effects on MCA energy are non-negligible.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Lattice dynamics effects on finite-temperature stability of $R_{1-x}$Fe$_{x}$ ($R$ = Y, Ce, Nd, Sm, and Dy) alloys from first principles

We report the effects of lattice dynamics on thermodynamic stability of binary $R_{1-x}$Fe$_x$ $(0<x<1)$ compounds ($R$: rare-earth elements, Y, Ce, Nd, Sm, and Dy) at finite temperature predicted by first-principles calculation based on density functional theory (DFT). We first demonstrate that the thermodynamic stability of $R_{1-x}$Fe$_x$ $(0<x<1)$ alloys cannot be predicted accurately by the conventional approach, where only the static DFT energy at $T = 0$ K is used. This issue can be overcome by considering the entropy contribution, including electronic and vibrational free energies, and we obtained convex hull plots at finite temperatures that successfully explain the thermodynamic stability of various known compounds. Our systematic calculation indicates that vibrational entropy helps stabilize various $R_{1-x}$Fe$_x$ compounds with increasing temperature. In particular, experimentally reported $R_2$Fe$_{17}$ compounds are predicted to become thermodynamically stable above $\sim$800 K. We also show that thermodynamic stability is rare-earth dependent and discuss its origin. Besides the experimentally reported structures, the stability of two new monoclinic $R$Fe$_{12}$ structures found by Ishikawa \textit{et al.} [Phys. Rev. Mater.~\textbf{4}, 104408 (2020)] based on a genetic algorithm are investigated. These monoclinic phases are found to be dynamically stable and have larger magnetization than the ThMn$_{12}$-type $R$Fe$_{12}$. Although they are thermodynamically unstable, the formation energies decrease significantly with increasing temperature, indicating the possibility of synthesizing these compounds at high temperatures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Evolutionary search for cobalt-rich compounds in the yttrium-cobalt-boron system

Modern high-performance permanent magnets are made from alloys of rare earth and transition metal elements, and large magnetization is achieved in the alloys with high concentration of transition metals. We applied evolutionary search scheme based on first-principles calculations to the Y-Co-B system and predicted 37 cobalt-rich compounds with high probability of being stable. Focusing on remarkably cobalt-rich compounds, YCo$_{16}$ and YCo$_{20}$, we found that, although they are metastable phases, the phase stability is increased with increase of temperature due to the contribution of vibrational entropy. The magnetization and Curie temperature are higher by 0.22 T and 204 K in YCo$_{16}$ and by 0.29 T and 204 K in YCo$_{20}$ than those of Y$_{2}$Co$_{17}$ which has been well studied as strong magnetic compounds.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Structural Instability and Magnetism of Superconducting KCr$_3$As$_3$

We find a lattice instability in the superconductor KCr$_3$As$_3$, corresponding to a distortion of the Cr metallic wires in the crystal structure. This distortion couples strongly to both the electronic and magnetic properties, in particular by making the electronic structure much more nearly one-dimensional, and by shifting the compound away from magnetism. We discuss the implications of these results in the context of the possibly unconventional superconductivity of this phase.

cond-mat.supr-con

Frustrated structural instability in superconducting quasi-one-dimensional K$_2$Cr$_3$As$_3$

We present neutron total scattering and density functional theory studies on quasi-one-dimensional superconducting K$_2$Cr$_3$As$_3$ revealing a frustrated structural instability. Our first principles calculations find a significant phonon instability which, under energy minimization, corresponds to a frustrated orthorhombic distortion. In diffraction studies we find large and temperature independent atomic displacement parameters which pair distribution analyses confirms and shows as resulting from highly localized orthorhombic distortions of the CrAs sublattice and coupled K displacements. These results suggest a far more complex phase diagram than previously assumed for this unusual superconductor with the likelihood of subtle interplays of structure, electron-phonon and magnetic interactions.

cond-mat.supr-con

Electronic fitness function for screening semiconductors as thermoelectric materials

We introduce a simple but efficient electronic fitness function (EFF) that describes the electronic aspect of the thermoelectric performance. This EFF finds materials that overcome the inverse relationship between $σ$ and $S$ based on the complexity of the electronic structures regardless of specific origin (e.g., isosurface corrugation, valley degeneracy, heavy-light bands mixture, valley anisotropy or reduced dimensionality). This function is well suited for application in high throughput screening. We applied this function to 75 different thermoelectric and potential thermoelectric materials including full- and half-Heuslers, binary semiconductors and Zintl phases. We find an efficient screening using this transport function. The EFF identifies known high performance $p$- and $n$-type Zintl phases and half-Heuslers. In addition, we find some previously unstudied phases with superior EFF.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

N-Type Oxide Thermoelectrics Via Visual Search Strategies

We discuss and present search strategies for finding new thermoelectric compositions based on first principles electronic structure and transport calculations. We illustrate them by application to a search for potential n-type oxide thermoelectric materials. This includes a screen based on visualization of electronic energy isosurfaces. We report compounds that show potential as thermoelectric materials along with detailed properties, including SrTiO3, which is a known thermoelectric, and appropriately doped KNbO3 and rutile TiO2.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Magnetism in Na-filled Fe-based skutterudites

The interplay of superconductivity and magnetism is a subject of ongoing interest, stimulated most recently by the discovery of Fe-based superconductivity and the recognition that spin-fluctuations near a magnetic quantum critical point may provide an explanation for the superconductivity and the order parameter. Here we investigate magnetism in the Na filled Fe-based skutterudites using first principles calculations. NaFe4Sb12 is a known ferromagnet near a quantum critical point. We find a ferromagnetic metallic state for this compound driven by a Stoner type instability, consistent with prior work. In accord with prior work, the magnetization is overestimated, as expected for a material near an itinerant ferromagnetic quantum critical point. NaFe4P12 also shows a ferromagnetic instability at the density functional level, but this instability is much weaker than that of NaFe4Sb12, possibly placing it on the paramagnetic side of the quantum critical point. NaFe4As12 shows intermediate behavior. We also present results for skutterudite FeSb3, which is a metastable phase that has been reported in thin film form.

cond-mat.str-el