arXiv subjects

Mark R. Pederson

Publications and source records attributed to Mark R. Pederson.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2007

Polarizabilities of Intermediate Sized Lithium Clusters From Density-Functional Theory

We present a detailed investigation of static dipole polarizability of lithium clusters containing up to 22 atoms. We first build a database of lithium clusters by optimizing several candidate structures for the ground state geometry for each size. The full polarizability tensor is determined for about 5-6 isomers of each cluster size using the finite-field method. All calculations are performed using large Gaussian basis sets, and within the generalized gradient approximation to the density functional theory, as implemented in the NRLMOL suite of codes. The average polarizability per atom varies from 11 to 9 Angstrom^3, within the 8-22 size range and show smoother decrease with increase in cluster size than the experimental values. While the average polarizability exhibits a relatively weak dependence on cluster conformation, significant changes in the degree of anisotropy of the polarizability tensor are observed. Interestingly, in addition to the expected even odd (0 and 1 $μ_B$) magnetic states, our results show several cases where clusters with an odd number of Li atoms exhibit elevated spin states (e.g. 3 $μ_B$).

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2007

Comparative study of unscreened and screened molecular static linear polarizability in the Hartree-Fock, hybrid-density functional, and density functional models

The sum-over-states (SOS) polarizabilities are calculated within the approximate independent electron theories such as the Hartree-Fock approximation and density functional models using the eigenvalues and orbitals obtained from the self-consistent solution of single-particle equations. The SOS polarizabilities are then compared with those calculated using the finite-field method within three widely used single particle models: (1) the Hartree-Fock (HF) method, (2) the three parameter hybrid generalized gradient approximation (B3LYP), and (3) the parameter free generalized gradient approximation due to Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE). The comparison is carried out for polarizabilities of 142 molecules calculated using the 6-311++G(d,p) orbital basis at the geometries optimized at the B3LYP/6-311G** level. The results show that the SOS method almost always overestimate the FF polarizabilities in the PBE and B3LYP models. This trend is reversed in the HF method however exception to the trend do exist. The mean absolute errors (MAE) in the screened (FF) and unscreened (SOS) polarizability are 0.78 Å$^3$ for the HF method, 1.87 Å$^3$ for the B3LYP, and 3.44 Å$^3$ for the PBE-GGA. The Hartree-Fock approximation predicts finite-field polarizabilities that are smaller than those predicted by the PBE and B3LYP models. Finally, a simple scheme is devised to obtain FF quality estimate of polarizability from those obtained using the SOS method by exploiting the observed trends.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2006

Electronic Structure of ZnO nanowire

This paper presents two first-principles calculations on the lattice- and electronic- structures of a small-diameter infinite and truncated ZnO nanowire. The two calculations show excellent agreement with each other. For the small diameter nanowire, the lattice and electronic properties are determined by the relaxed surface. We find a similarity between the nanowire surface and the surface of the bulk material, and discuss the assignment of the rotational quantum number m to the bands.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2005

Electron-phonon coupling as an order-one problem

The coupling between electrons and phonons plays important roles in physics, chemistry and biology. However, the accurate calculation of the electron-phonon coupling constants is computationally expensive as it involves solving the Schrodinger equation for O(N) nuclear configurations, where N is the number of nuclei. Herein we show that by considering the forces on the nuclei caused by the addition or subtraction of an arbitrarily small electronic charge one may calculate the electron-phonon coupling constants from O(1) solutions of the Schrodinger equation. We show that Janak's theorem means that this procedure is exact within the density functional formalism. We demonstrate that the O(1) approach produces numerically accurate results by calculating the electron-phonon coupling constants for a series of molecules ranging in size from H_2 to C_60. We use our approach to introduce a computationally fast approximation for the adiabatic ionisation potentials and electron affinities which is shown to be accurate for large molecules. We also show that our approach allows for the calculation isotope effects in O(0) time and discuss the deuteration driven Mott transition in kappa-(BEDT-TTF)_2Cu[N(CN)_2]Br.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2005

Towards Structure-Property-Function Relationships for Eumelanin

We discuss recent progress towards the establishment of important structure-property-function relationships in eumelanins - key functional bio-macromolecular systems responsible for photo-protection and immune response in humans, and implicated in the development of melanoma skin cancer. We focus on the link between eumelanin's secondary structure and optical properties such as broad band UV-visible absorption and strong non-radiative relaxation; both key features of the photo-protective function. We emphasise the insights gained through a holistic approach combining optical spectroscopy with first principles quantum chemical calculations, and advance the hypothesis that the robust functionality characteristic of eumelanin is related to extreme chemical and structural disorder at the secondary level. This inherent disorder is a low cost natural resource, and it is interesting to speculate as to whether it may play a role in other functional bio-macromolecular systems.

q-bio.BM↗

arXiv2005

Theoretical infra-red, Raman, and Optical spectra of the B36N36 cage

The B36N36 fullerene-like cage structure was proposed as candidate structure for the single-shell boron-nitride cages observed in electron-beam irradiation experiment. We have performed all electron density functional calculations, with large polarized Gaussian basis sets, on the B36N36 cage. We show that the cage is energetically and vibrationally stable. The infra-red, Raman and optical spectra are calculated. The predicted spectra, in combination with experimentally measured spectra, will be useful in conclusive assignment of the proposed B36N36 cage. The vertical and adiabatic ionization potentials as well as static dipole polarizability are also reported.

physics.atm-clus↗

arXiv2004

Density-Functional-Based Determination of Vibrational Polarizabilities in Molecules

We develop a direct derivation for the primary contribution to the vibrational polarizability for molecules, clusters and other finite systems. The vibrational polarizability is then calculated within the generalized gradient approximation to the density functional theory for a variety of molecules and clusters. The agreement between theory and experiment is quite good. The results show that for small ionic molecules and clusters, inclusion of the vibrational polarizability is necessary to achieve quantitative accuracy.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2004

Incommensurate Transverse Anisotropy Induced by Disorder and Spin-Orbit-Vibron Coupling in Mn12-acetate

It has been shown within density-functional theory that in Mn$_{12}$-acetate there are effects due to disorder by solvent molecules and a coupling between vibrational and electronic degrees of freedom. We calculate the in-plane principal axes of the second-order anisotropy caused by the second effect and compare them with those of the fourth-order anisotropy due to the first effect. We find that the two types of the principal axes are not commensurate with each other, which results in a complete quenching of the tunnel-splitting oscillation as a function of an applied transverse field.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2004

Electronic structure, vibrational stability, infra-red, and Raman spectra of B24N24 cages

We examine the vibrational stability of three candidate structures for the B24N24 cage and report their infra-red (IR) and Raman spectra. The candidate structures considered are a round cage with octahedral O symmetry, a cage with S_4 symmetry that satisfies the isolated square rule, and a cage of S_8 symmetry, which combines the caps of the (4,4) nanotube, and contains two extra squares and octagons. The calculations are performed within density functional theory, at the all electron level, with large basis sets, and within the generalized gradient approximation. The vertical ionization potential (VIP) and static dipole polarizability are also reported. The S_4 and S_8 cages are energetically nearly degenerate and are favored over the O cage which has six extra octagons and squares. The IR and Raman spectra of the three clusters show notable differences providing thereby a way to identify and possibly synthesize the cages.

physics.atm-clus↗

arXiv2004

Effect of extra electrons on the exchange and magnetic anisotropy in the anionic single-molecule magnet Mn12

To understand the effect of molecular environment on the electronic and magnetic properties of the single-molecule magnet (SMM) Mn$_{12}$, we explore two possible means for adding extra electrons to molecule. We explore both substitution of Mn ions by Fe ions and the inclusion of neighboring electronic donors. For both possibilities we calculate, within density-functional theory, the electronic structure, the total ground-state spin and ordering, the magnetic anisotropy barrier, the transverse magnetic anisotropy parameter $E$ which is responsible for some measured tunneling, and the tilting angle of the easy axis from the z axis. Our calculations show that the total spin increases with increasing number of extra electrons except for the case of Mn$_{8}$Fe$_4$ where the resulting ground state has a low spin. The calculated energy gaps between the unoccupied and the occupied orbitals exhibit no clear trend as a function of number of extra electrons. The calculated magnetic anisotropy barrier decreases with increasing number of extra electrons and can be directly chased to a quenching of Jahn-Teller distortions at the sites where the additional electrons are localized. The values of $E$ and the easy-axis tilting angles for the geometries with one- and two-extra electrons are significantly larger than those induced by solvent disorder.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2004

Stability of As$_n$ [n=4, 8, 20, 28, 32, 36, 60] Cage Structures

We present all-electron density functional study of the geometry, electronic structure, vibrational modes, polarizabilities as well as the infrared and Raman spectra of fullerene-like arsenic cages. The stability of As$_n$ cages for sizes 4, 8, 20, 28, 32, 36, and 60 wherein each As atom is three-fold coordinated is examined. We find that all the cages studied are vibrationally stable and while all the clusters are energetically stable with respect to isolated arsenic atoms, only As$_{20}$ is energetically stable against dissociation into As$_4$. We suggest that the Raman spectra might be a means for observing the As$_{20}$ molecule in gas phase.

physics.atm-clus↗

arXiv2004

Molecular structures and vibrations of neutral and anionic CuOx (x = 1-3,6) clusters

We report equilibrium geometric structures of CuO2, CuO3, CuO6, and CuO clusters obtained by an all-electron linear combination of atomic orbitals scheme within the density-functional theory with generalized gradient approximation to describe the exchange-correlation effects. The vibrational stability of all clusters is examined on the basis of the vibrational frequencies. A structure with Cs symmetry is found to be the lowest-energy structure for CuO2, while a -shaped structure with C2v symmetry is the most stable structure for CuO3. For the larger CuO6 and CuO clusters, several competitive structures exist with structures containing ozonide units being higher in energy than those with O2 units. The infrared and Raman spectra are calculated for the stable optimal geometries. ~

physics.atm-clus↗

arXiv2003

Second-order transverse magnetic anisotropy induced by disorders in the single-molecule magnet Mn12

For the single-molecule magnet Mn12, Cornia et al. recently proposed that solvent molecules may cause the quantum tunneling that requires a lower symmetry than S4. However, magnetic quantum tunneling and electron paramagnetic resonance experiments suggested that the proposed theory may not correspond to the measurements. In this regard, we consider positional disorder induced by the solvent molecules and orientational disorder by the methyl groups of a Mn12 molecule. We calculate, within density-functional theory, the second-order transverse magnetic anisotropy parameter E and an easy-axis tilting angle induced by the positional disorder and the E value by the orientational disorder. We also calculate the local magnetic anisotropy and the local easy axis for each inequivalent Mn site in different environments to investigate their effects on the global E value. We find that the hydrogen bonding between a Mn12 molecule and the solvent molecule is crucial to obtain a substantial E value and that the E value increases upon geometry relaxations. Our calculations on relaxed geometries show that the largest calculated E value is 0.016 K and that the largest tilting angle is 0.5 degrees. Our largest E value is comparable to experimental results but larger than Cornia et al.'s.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2003

Electronic structure and rebonding in the onion-like As@Ni12@As20 cluster

We present the first ab initio study of the geometry, electronic structure, charged states, bonding and vibrational modes of the recently synthesized fullerene-like As@Ni12@As20 cluster which has icosahedral point symmetry [Science, 300, 778 (2003)]. We show that the molecule is vibrationally stable and will be electronically most stable in its -3 oxidation state in the condensed phase and in -2 state in the gas phase. We examine the bonding in this unusually structured molecule from charge transfer between atoms, infrared and Raman spectra, and charge density isosurfaces.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2003

Properties of low-lying excited manifolds in the Mn12 acetate

Most experimental data on the single-molecule magnet Mn$_{12}$ acetate have been successfully explained by the assumption that the Mn$_{12}$ acetate has an effective ground-state spin of S=10. However, the effect of the low-lying excited manifolds caused by interactions between Mn spins has not been well understood. To investigate the features of the low-lying excited manifolds, the intramolecular exchange interactions are calculated using density-functional theory (DFT). With the calculated exchange parameters, the energy gap between the S=10 ground-state and the first excited-state manifold is calculated by diagonalization of the Heisenberg Hamiltonian. The upper limit on the energy gap is about 40.5 K which is likely to be overestimated due to incomplete treatment of the Coulomb potential within DFT. It is found that there are several S=9 low-energy excited-state manifolds above the S=10 ground-state manifold. The magnetic anisotropy barriers for the low-lying spin excitations are calculated using DFT. Based on the calculations, it is found that the anisotropy barriers for the low-lying excited manifolds are approximately the same as that for the ground-state manifold, which is applicable to other single-molecule magnets such as Mn$_4$.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2003

Electronic, magnetic, and vibrational properties of the molecular magnet Mn4 monomer and dimer

A new type of the single-molecule magnet [Mn_4 O_3 Cl_4 (O_2 CEt)_3(py)_3] forms dimers. Recent magnetic hysteresis measurements on this single-molecular magnet revealed interesting phenomena: an absence of quantum tunneling at zero magnetic field and tunneling before magnetic field reversal. This is attributed to a significant antiferromagnetic exchange interaction between different monomers. To investigate this system, we calculate the electronic structure, magnetic properties, intramolecular and intermolecular exchange interactions using density-functional theory within the generalized-gradient approximation. Our calculations agree with experiment. We also calculate vibrational infrared absorption and Raman scattering intensities for the monomer which can be tested experimentally.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2003

DFT calculation of the intermolecular exchange interaction in the magnetic Mn$_4$ dimer

The dimeric form of the single-molecule magnet [Mn$_4$O$_3$Cl$_4$(O$_2$CEt)$_3$(py)$_3$]$_2$ recently revealed interesting phenomena: no quantum tunneling at zero field and tunneling before magnetic field reversal. This is attributed to substantial antiferromagnetic exchange interaction between different monomers. The intermolecular exchange interaction, electronic structure and magnetic properties of this molecular magnet are calculated using density-functional theory within generalized-gradient approximation. Calculations are in good agreement with experiment.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2002

Electronic structure and magnetic anisotropy of the [Co_4(hmp)_4(CH_3OH)_4Cl_4] molecule

Accurate density-functional based calculations have been performed on the Co_4(hmp)_4(CH_3OH)_4Cl_4 molecular magnet where hmp is deprotonated hydroxymethyl pyridine. In addition to the experimentally observed staggered geometry, we identify two isomers, referred to as eclipsed and half-staggered/half-eclipsed, that are reasonably low in energy. Our calculations show that the magnetic anisotropy is strongly dependent on the pyridine-pyridine separation and that the three structures exhibit easy axis, easy plane and triaxial behavior. Other effects such as partial reprotonation of the hmp is considered.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗