arXiv subjects

Lucian A. Constantin

Publications and source records attributed to Lucian A. Constantin.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2009

Kinetic energy density functionals from the Airy gas, with an application to the atomization kinetic energies of molecules

We construct and study several semilocal density functional approximations for the positive Kohn-Sham kinetic energy density. These functionals fit the kinetic energy density of the Airy gas and they can be accurate for integrated kinetic energies of atoms, molecules, jellium clusters and jellium surfaces. We find that these functionals are the most accurate ones for atomization kinetic energies of molecules and for fragmentation of jellium clusters. We also report that local and semilocal kinetic energy functionals can show "binding" when the density of a spin unrestricted Kohn-Sham calculation is used.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2009

Exchange-Correlation Hole of a Generalized Gradient Approximation for Solids and Surfaces

We propose a generalized gradient approximation (GGA) for the angle- and system-averaged exchange-correlation hole of a many-electron system. This hole, which satisfies known exact constraints, recovers the PBEsol (Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof for solids) exchange-correlation energy functional, a GGA that accurately describes the equilibrium properties of densely packed solids and their surfaces. We find that our PBEsol exchange-correlation hole describes the wavevector analysis of the jellium exchange-correlation surface energy in agreement with a sophisticated time-dependent density-functional calculation (whose three-dimensional wavevector analysis we report here).

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2008

Exact condition on the Kohn-Sham kinetic energy, and modern parametrization of the Thomas-Fermi density

We study the asymptotic expansion of the neutral-atom energy as the atomic number Z goes to infinity, presenting a new method to extract the coefficients from oscillating numerical data. We find that recovery of the correct expansion is an exact condition on the Kohn-Sham kinetic energy that is important for the accuracy of approximate kinetic energy functionals for atoms, molecules and solids, when evaluated on a Kohn-Sham density. For example, this determines the small gradient limit of any generalized gradient approximation, and conflicts somewhat with the standard gradient expansion. Tests are performed on atoms, molecules, and jellium clusters. We also give a modern, highly accurate parametrization of the Thomas-Fermi density of neutral atoms.

physics.atm-clus↗

arXiv2008

Collapse of the Electron Gas to Two Dimensions in Density Functional Theory

Local and semilocal density-functional approximations for the exchange-correlation energy fail badly in the zero-thickness limit of a quasi-two-dimensional electron gas, where the density variation is rapid almost everywhere. Here we show that a fully nonlocal fifth-rung functional, the inhomogeneous Singwi-Tosi-Land-Sjölander (STLS) approach, which employs both occupied and unoccupied Kohn-Sham orbitals, recovers the true two-dimensional STLS limit and appears to be remarkably accurate for any thickness of the slab (and thus for the dimensional crossover). We also show that this good behavior is only partly due to the use of the full exact exchange energy.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2007

High-Level Correlated Approach to the Jellium Surface Energy, Without Uniform-Electron-Gas Input

We resolve the long-standing controversy over the surface energy of simple metals: Density functional methods that require uniform-electron-gas input agree with each other at many levels of sophistication, but not with high-level correlated calculations like Fermi Hypernetted Chain and Diffusion Monte Carlo (DMC) that predict the uniform-gas correlation energy. Here we apply a very high-level correlated approach, the inhomogeneous Singwi-Tosi-Land-Sjölander (ISTLS) method, and find that the density functionals are indeed reliable (because the surface energy is "bulk-like"). ISTLS values are close to recently-revised DMC values. Our work also vindicates the previously-disputed use of uniform-gas-based nonlocal kernels in time-dependent density functional theory.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2007

Generalized gradient approximation for solids and their surfaces

Successful modern generalized gradient approximations (GGA) are biased toward atomic energies. Restoration of the first-principles gradient expansion for the exchange energy over a wide range of density gradients eliminates this bias. We introduce PBEsol, a revised Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof GGA that improves equilibrium properties for many densely-packed solids and their surfaces.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2007

Simple dynamic exchange-correlation kernel of the uniform electron gas

We propose a simple dynamic exchange-correlation kernel of the uniform electron gas. We model the reduction of the electron-electron interaction due to short-range exchange-correlation effects by introducing a frequency-dependent error-function effective interaction. By imposing the fulfillment of the compresibility and the third-frequency-moment sum rules, as well as the correct asymptotic behavior at large wave vectors, we find an accurate and simple dynamic exchange-correlation kernel that accurately reproduces the wave-vector analysis and the imaginary-frequency analysis of the correlation energy of the uniform electron gas.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2006

Laplacian-level density functionals for the kinetic energy density and exchange-correlation energy

We construct a Laplacian-level meta-generalized gradient approximation (meta-GGA) for the non-interacting (Kohn-Sham orbital) positive kinetic energy density $τ$ of an electronic ground state of density $n$. This meta-GGA is designed to recover the fourth-order gradient expansion $τ^{GE4}$ in the appropiate slowly-varying limit and the von Weizsäcker expression $τ^{W}=|\nabla n|^2/(8n)$ in the rapidly-varying limit. It is constrained to satisfy the rigorous lower bound $τ^{W}(\mathbf{r})\leqτ(\mathbf{r})$. Our meta-GGA is typically a strong improvement over the gradient expansion of $τ$ for atoms, spherical jellium clusters, jellium surfaces, the Airy gas, Hooke's atom, one-electron Gaussian density, quasi-two dimensional electron gas, and nonuniformly-scaled hydrogen atom. We also construct a Laplacian-level meta-GGA for exchange and correlation by employing our approximate $τ$ in the Tao, Perdew, Staroverov and Scuseria (TPSS) meta-GGA density functional. The Laplacian-level TPSS gives almost the same exchange-correlation enhancement factors and energies as the full TPSS, suggesting that $τ$ and $\nabla^2 n$ carry about the same information beyond that carried by $n$ and $\nabla n$. Our kinetic energy density integrates to an orbital-free kinetic energy functional that is about as accurate as the fourth-order gradient expansion for many real densities (with noticeable improvement in molecular atomization energies), but considerably more accurate for rapidly-varying ones.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2006

Relevance of the slowly-varying electron gas to atoms, molecules, and solids

Under a certain scaling, the electron densities of finite systems become both large and slowly-varying, so that the gradient expansions of the density functionals for the Kohn-Sham kinetic and exchange energies become asymptotically exact to order $\nabla^2$. Neutral atoms of large $Z$ scale similarly, but a cusp correction at the nucleus requires generalizing the gradient expansion for exchange, producing the wrong gradient coefficient in the slowly-varying limit. Meta-generalized gradient approximations (meta-GGA's) recover both the slowly-varying and large-$Z$ limits. GGA correlation energies of large-Z atoms are found to be accurate.

quant-ph↗