arXiv subjects

Karsten Held

Publications and source records attributed to Karsten Held.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Charge self-consistency in density functional theory + dynamical mean field theory: k-space reoccupation and orbital order

We study effects of charge self-consistency within the combination of density functional theory (DFT; Wien2k) with dynamical mean field theory (DMFT; w2dynamics) in a basis of maximally localized Wannier orbitals. Using the example of two cuprates, we demonstrate that even if there is only a single Wannier orbital with fixed filling, a noteworthy charge redistribution can occur. This effect stems from a reoccupation of the Wannier orbital in k-space when going from the single, metallic DFT band to the split, insulating Hubbard bands of DMFT. We analyze another charge self-consistency effect beyond moving charge from one site to another: the correlation-enhanced orbital polarization in a freestanding layer of SrVO3.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Heart and diamond Fermi arcs in Pd and Pt oxide topological Dirac semimetals

Topological Dirac semimetals (DSMs) exhibit nodal points through which energy bands disperse linearly in three-dimensional (3D) momentum space, a 3D analogue of graphene. The first experimentally confirmed DSMs with a pair of Dirac points (DPs), Na$_{3}$Bi and Cd$_{3}$As$_{2}$, show topological surface Fermi arc states and exotic magneto-transport properties, boosting the interest in the search for stable and nontoxic DSM materials. Here, based on the {\it ab-initio} band structure calculations we predict a family of palladium and platinum oxides as robust 3D DSMs. The novel topological properties of these compounds are distinct from all other previously reported DSMs, they are rendered by the multiple number of DPs in the compounds. We show that along three unit axes of the cubic lattice there exist three pairs of DPs, which are linked by Fermi arcs on the surface. The Fermi arcs display a Lifshitz transition from a heart- to a diamond-shape upon varying the chemical potential. Corresponding oxides are already available as high-quality single crystals, which is an excellent precondition for the verification of our prediction by photoemission and magneto-transport experiments. Our findings not only predict a number of much robust 3D DSM candidates but also extend DSMs to transition metal oxides, a versatile family of materials, which opens the door to investigate the interplay between DSMs and electronic correlations that is not possible in the previously discovered DSM materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2015

Efficient implementation of the parquet equations -- role of the reducible vertex function and its kernel approximation

We present an efficient implementation of the parquet formalism which respects the asymptotic structure of the vertex functions at both single- and two-particle levels in momentum- and frequency-space. We identify the two-particle reducible vertex as the core function which is essential for the construction of the other vertex functions. This observation stimulates us to consider a two-level parameter-reduction for this function to simplify the solution of the parquet equations. The resulting functions, which depend on fewer arguments, are coined "kernel functions". With the use of the "kernel functions", the open boundary of various vertex functions in the Matsubara-frequency space can be faithfully satisfied. We justify our implementation by accurately reproducing the dynamical mean-field theory results from momentum-independent parquet calculations. The high-frequency asymptotics of the single-particle self-energy and the two-particle vertex are correctly reproduced, which turns out to be essential for the self-consistent determination of the parquet solutions. The current implementation is also feasible for the dynamical vertex approximation.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Continuous-time Quantum Monte Carlo using Worm Sampling

We present a worm sampling method for calculating one- and two-particle Green's functions using continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo simulations in the hybridization expansion (CT-HYB). Instead of measuring Green's functions by removing hybridization lines from partition function configurations, as in conventional CT-HYB, the worm algorithm directly samples the Green's function. We show that worm sampling is necessary to obtain general two-particle Green's functions which are not of density-density type and that it improves the sampling efficiency when approaching the atomic limit. Such two-particle Green's functions are needed to compute off-diagonal elements of susceptibilities and occur in diagrammatic extensions of the dynamical mean field theory and efficient estimators for the single-particle self-energy.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Efficient DMFT impurity solver using real-time dynamics with Matrix Product States

We propose to calculate spectral functions of quantum impurity models using the Time Evolving Block Decimation (TEBD) for Matrix Product States. The resolution of the spectral function is improved by a so-called linear prediction approach. We apply the method as an impurity solver within the Dynamical Mean Field Theory (DMFT) for the single- and two-band Hubbard model on the Bethe lattice. For the single-band model we observe sharp features at the inner edges of the Hubbard bands. A finite size scaling shows that they remain present in the thermodynamic limit. We analyze the real time-dependence of the double occupation after adding a single electron and observe oscillations at the same energy as the sharp feature in the Hubbard band, indicating a long-lived coherent superposition of states that correspond to the Kondo peak and the side peaks. For a two-band Hubbard model we observe an even richer structure in the Hubbard bands, which cannot be related to a multiplet structure of the impurity, in addition to sharp excitations at the band edges of a type similar to the single-band case.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

A route to room temperature ferromagnetic ultrathin SrRuO$_3$ films

Experimental efforts to stabilize ferromagnetism in ultrathin films of transition metal oxides have so far failed, despite expectations based on density functional theory (DFT) and DFT+U. Here, we investigate one of the most promising materials, SrRuO$_3$, and include correlation effects beyond DFT by means of dynamical mean field theory. In agreement with experiment we find an intrinsic thickness limitation for metallic ferromagnetism in SrRuO$_3$ thin films. Indeed, we demonstrate that the realization of ultrathin ferromagnetic films is out of reach of standard thin-film techniques. Proposing charge carrier doping as a new route to manipulate thin films, we predict room temperature ferromagnetism in electron-doped SrRuO$_3$ ultra thin films.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Giant switchable Rashba effect in oxide heterostructures

One of the most fundamental phenomena and a reminder of the electron's relativistic nature is the Rashba spin splitting for broken inversion symmetry. Usually this splitting is a tiny relativistic correction, hardly discernible in experiment. Interfacing a ferroelectric, BaTiO$_3$, and a heavy 5$d$ metal with a large spin-orbit coupling, Ba(Os,Ir)O$_3$, we show that giant Rashba spin splittings are indeed possible and even fully controllable by an external electric field. Based on density functional theory and a microscopic tight binding understanding, we conclude that the electric field is amplified and stored as a ferroelectric Ti-O distortion which, through the network of oxygen octahedra, also induces a large Os-O distortion. The BaTiO$_3$/BaOsO$_3$ heterostructure is hence the ideal test station for studying the fundamentals of the Rashba effect. It allows intriguing application such as the Datta-Das transistor to operate at room temperature.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2014

Role of impact ionization in the thermalization of photo-excited Mott insulators

We study the influence of the pulse energy and fluence on the thermalization of photo-doped Mott insulators. If the Mott gap is smaller than the width of the Hubbard bands, the kinetic energy of individual carriers can be large enough to produce doublon-hole pairs via a process analogous to impact ionization. The thermalization dynamics, which involves an adjustment of the doublon and hole densities, thus changes as a function of the energy of the photo-doped carriers and exhibits two timescales -- a fast relaxation related to impact ionization and a slower timescale associated with higher-order scattering processes. The slow dynamics depends more strongly on the gap size and the photo-doping concentration.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2014

Dynamical Vertex Approximation

Dynamical vertex approximation is a Feynman diagrammatic extension of dynamical mean field theory, including non-local correlations on all time and length scales. Starting with the Dyson and the parquet equations, the lecture notes give an elementary introduction to the dynamical vertex approximation. As a benchmark, results for an exactly solvable benzene Hubbard ring are presented. Recent highlights, the calculation of the critical exponents of the Hubbard model in 3D and that long-range antiferromagnetic correlations in 2D actually shift the (paramagnetic) Mott transition to interaction U=0, are reviewed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2014

Chebyshev expansion for Impurity Models using Matrix Product States

We improve a recently developed expansion technique for calculating real frequency spectral functions of any one-dimensional model with short-range interactions, by postprocessing computed Chebyshev moments with linear prediction. This can be achieved at virtually no cost and, in sharp contrast to existing methods based on the dampening of the moments, improves the spectral resolution rather than lowering it. We validate the method for the exactly solvable resonating level model and the single impurity Anderson model. It is capable of resolving sharp Kondo resonances, as well as peaks within the Hubbard bands when employed as an impurity solver for dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT). Our method works at zero temperature and allows for arbitrary discretization of the bath spectrum. It achieves similar precision as the dynamical density matrix renormalization group (DDMRG), at lower cost. We also propose an alternative expansion, of 1-exp(-tau H) instead of the usual H, which opens the possibility of using established methods for the time evolution of matrix product states to calculate spectral functions directly.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Electronics with correlated oxides: SrVO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ as a Mott transistor

We employ density functional theory plus dynamical mean field theory and identify the physical origin of why two layers of SrVO$_3$ on a SrTiO$_3$ substrate are insulating: the thin film geometry lifts the orbital degeneracy which in turn triggers a Mott-Hubbard transition. Two layers of SrVO$_3$ are just at the verge of a Mott-Hubbard transition and hence ideally suited for technological applications of the Mott-Hubbard transition: the heterostructure is highly sensitive to strain, electric field, and temperature. A gate voltage can also turn the insulator into a metal, so that a transistor with ideal on-off (metal-insulator) switching properties is realized.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Importance of d-p Coulomb interaction for high T$_C$ cuprates and other oxides

Current theoretical studies of electronic correlations in transition metal oxides typically only account for the local repulsion between d-electrons even if oxygen ligand p-states are an explicit part of the effective Hamiltonian. Interatomic interactions such as Upd between d- and (ligand) p-electrons, as well as the local interaction between p-electrons, are neglected. Often, the relative d-p orbital splitting has to be adjusted "ad hoc" on the basis of the experimental evidence. By applying the merger of local density approximation and dynamical mean field theory (LDA+DMFT) to the prototypical case of the 3-band Emery dp model for the cuprates, we demonstrate that, without any "ad hoc" adjustment of the orbital splitting, the charge transfer insulating state is stabilized by the interatomic interaction Upd. Our study hence shows how to improve realistic material calculations that explicitly include the p-orbitals.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Anisotropic two-dimensional electron gas at SrTiO3(110) protected by its native overlayer

Two dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) at a oxide heterostructures are attracting considerable attention, as these might substitute conventional semiconductors for novel electronic devices [1]. Here we present a minimal set-up for such a 2DEG -the SrTiO3(110)-(4 x 1) surface, natively terminated with one monolayer of chemically-inert titania. Oxygen vacancies induced by synchrotron radiation migrate under- neath this overlayer, this leads to a confining potential and electron doping such that a 2DEG develops. Our angular resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and theoretical results show that confinement along (110) is strikingly different from a (001) crystal orientation. In particular the quantized subbands show a surprising "semi-heavy" band, in contrast to the analogue in the bulk, and a high electronic anisotropy. This anisotropy and even the effective mass of the (110) 2DEG is tunable by doping, offering a high flexibility to engineer the properties of this system.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2013

Quantum confinement in perovskite oxide heterostructures: tight binding instead of nearly free electron picture

Most recently, orbital-selective quantum well states of $d$ electrons have been experimentally observed in SrVO$_3$ ultrathin films [K. Yoshimatsu et. al., Science 333, 319 (2011)] and SrTiO$_3$ surfaces [A. F. Santander-Syro et. al., Nature 469, 189 (2011)]. Hitherto, one tries to explain these experiments by a nearly free electron (NFE) model, an approach widely used for delocalized electrons in semiconductor heterostructures and simple metal films. We show that a tight binding (TB) model is more suitable for describing heterostructures with more localized $d$ electrons. In this paper, we construct from first principles simple TB models for perovskite oxide heterostructures and surfaces. We show that the TB model provides a simple intuitive physical picture and yields, already with only two parameters, quantitatively much more reliable results, consistent with experiment.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2013

Oxide Heterostructures for Efficient Solar Cells

We propose an unexplored class of absorbing materials for high-efficiency solar cells: heterostructures of transition-metal oxides. In particular, LaVO_3 grown on SrTiO_3 has a direct band gap ~1.1 eV in the optimal range as well as an internal potential gradient, which can greatly help to separate the photo-generated electron-hole pairs. Furthermore, oxide heterostructures afford the flexibility to combine LaVO_3 with other materials such as LaFeO_3 in order to achieve even higher efficiencies with band-gap graded solar cells. We use density-functional theory to demonstrate these features.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

Theory of spin-orbit coupling at LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interfaces and SrTiO3 surfaces

The theoretical understanding of the spin-orbit coupling (SOC) effects at LaAlO$_{3}$/SrTiO$_{3}$ interfaces and SrTiO$_{3}$ surfaces is still in its infancy. We perform first-principles density-functional-theory calculations and derive from these a simple tight-binding Hamiltonian, through a Wannier function projection and group theoretical analysis. We find striking differences to the standard Rashba theory for spin-orbit coupling in semiconductor heterostructures due to multi-orbital effects: by far the biggest SOC effect is at the crossing point of the $xy$ and $yz$ (or $zx$) orbitals; and around the $Γ$ point a Rashba spin splitting with a cubic dependence on the wave vector $\vec{k}$ is possible.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

Comparing $GW$+DMFT and LDA+DMFT for the testbed material SrVO$_3$

We have implemented the $GW$+dynamical mean field theory (DMFT) approach in the Vienna ab initio simulation package. Employing the interaction values obtained from the locally unscreened random phase approximation (RPA), we compare $GW$+DMFT and LDA+DMFT against each other and against experiment for SrVO$_3$. We observed a partial compensation of stronger electronic correlations due to the reduced $GW$ bandwidth and weaker correlations due to a larger screening of the RPA interaction, so that the obtained spectra are quite similar and well agree with experiment. Noteworthily, the $GW$+DMFT better reproduces the position of the lower Hubbard side band.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Conserved quantities of SU(2)-invariant interactions for correlated fermions and the advantages for quantum Monte Carlo simulations

In the context of realistic calculations for strongly-correlated materials with $d$- or $f$-electrons the efficient computation of multi-orbital models is of paramount importance. Here we introduce a set of invariants for the SU(2)-symmetric Kanamori Hamiltonian which allows to massively speed up the calculation of the fermionic trace in hybridization-expansion continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo algorithms. As an application, we show that, exploiting this set of good quantum numbers, the study of the orbital-selective Mott-transition in systems with up to seven correlated orbitals becomes feasible.

cond-mat.str-el↗