arXiv subjects

Michael Widom

Publications and source records attributed to Michael Widom.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

First-Principles Investigation of the Al-V Phase Diagram

The Al-V alloy system contains a number of phases including several with complex structures and at least two exhibiting sites of partial occupation. Through electronic density functional theory-based total energy calculations combined with methods of statistical mechanics, we examine the relative stability of phases at finite temperatures. We construct composition-continuous free energy models for the V-rich solid solution and for one of the complex intermetallic phases. In the V-rich region, we identify three ground states that transform to the solid solution at elevated temperatures. We also suggest that \phase{Al}{V_3} takes the Al15 structure as an intermediate-temperature phase stabilized by anharmonic vibrational free energy.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Reversible non-equilibrium phase transformation in amorphous germanium

First principles molecular dynamics simulations of germanium reveal a reversible liquid-glass transition below the equilibrium melting point with a wide hysteresis loop. Direct calculation of the liquid and amorphous state free energies, enabled by absolute entropy calculations, verify that the transition is first order in character between two metastable phases. These results lend credence to models of explosive recrystallization from amorphous Ge thin films, through a metastable liquid state and finally reaching the low temperature crystalline structure.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Computational Design of Ductile Additively Manufactured Tungsten-Based Refractory Alloys

Tungsten exhibits exceptional temperature and radiation resistance, making it well-suited for applications in extreme environments such as nuclear fusion reactors. Additive manufacturing offers geometrical design freedom and rapid prototyping capabilities for these applications, provided the intrinsic brittleness and low printability of tungsten can be overcome. Designing tungsten alloys with improved ductility, and thus printability in additive manufacturing, can be accelerated using a computationally derived performance predictor to screen out brittle compositions. Calculations of the Pugh ratio using density functional theory may serve this purpose, given its correlation with ductility. This process can be made more efficient through the use of machine learning interatomic potentials to accelerate density functional theory calculations. Here, we demonstrate that machine learning interatomic potentials can effectively identify optimal alloy compositions in the W-Ta-Nb system along the melting point-Pugh ratio Pareto front. The trend in Pugh ratio as a function of tungsten fraction is explained in terms of the electronic density of states at the Fermi level. Experimental validation reveals a strong correlation between the computed Pugh ratio and the observed crack fractions in additively manufactured alloys. Notably, the two alloys predicted to have the highest Pugh ratio values, W20Ta70Nb10 and W30Ta60Nb10, exhibit no intergranular microcracking in experiments.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Electronic structure and elasticity of the Ta-W solid solution

The brittleness or ductility of metals has long been attributed to their elastic constants, with high Poisson ratio, or equivalently high Pugh ratio, favoring greater ductility. Growing evidence links ductility with their electronic structure. Consequently, it is desirable to understand how the electronic structure affects the elastic constants. Here, we examine the Ta-W binary alloy system, which evolves from ductile character at Ta-rich compositions to brittleness at high W. We show that a change in slope of the composition-dependent shear modulus near the equiatomic composition coincides with an abrupt change in the Fermi level density of states. We relate the behaviors of the elastic constants to the characters of occupied electronic orbitals close to the Fermi level. Finally, we consider additional alloy systems from groups V and VI and show that qualitatively similar behavior occurs more broadly.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

First-Principles Thermodynamics of Al$_{10}$V: An Analytical Treatment of Localized Anharmonic Modes

Many complex intermetallic structures possess cage-like environments that can host additional guest atoms. In Al$_{10}$V, these atoms give rise to low-frequency, localized vibrations (Einstein modes) that dominate the thermodynamic response at low temperature. They become imaginary under volume expansion as temperature rises, invalidating the harmonic approximation. We develop a framework to incorporate these strongly anharmonic vibrational modes into first-principles thermodynamic calculations. By explicitly modeling the cage potential and solving the associated Schr\"odinger equation numerically, we compute the full anharmonic free energy contribution and demonstrate its impact on thermodynamic phase stability. Our results reproduce key experimental signatures, including the anomalous rise in the thermal expansion coefficient and specific heat at low temperatures, and reveal that the presence of guest atoms is essential to stabilizing the Al$_{10}$V phase at elevated temperatures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

X-Ray and neutron diffraction patterns of the AlCrTiV high entropy alloy and quaternary Heusler structures

The quaternary alloy AlCrTiV has been proposed as both a lightweight high entropy alloy and also a functional spin filter material based on the Heusler structure. Experimental investigations to-date, based on X-ray diffraction, offer conflicting interpretations of the structure. Here we simulate diffraction patterns of the various proposed structures to show that neutron diffraction, in particular, can reveal the nature of long-range chemical order and discriminate among distributions of the refractory transition metals. Magnetic contributions to the neutron diffraction are also discussed.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

First principles investigation of phase stability in the B-Pt alloy system

The B-Pt alloy system contains several Pt-rich phases exhibiting complex structures, many with partial site occupation. It also exhibits a deep (nearly 1000 degrees C) eutectic. We evaluate the ab-initio total energies of the crystalline solids to clarify the identity and character of the phases. Our work identifies inconsistencies in materials databases such as the Inorganic Crystallographic Structure Database and the ASM Phase Diagram Database, but our total energy calculations allow us to match up experimentally reported stable phases with specific structures. High temperature Gibbs free energy calculations in the liquid and solid states at the composition Pt$_2$B reveal that the depth of the eutectic arises from the low energy and high entropy of the liquid state.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

First-principles study of the order-disorder transition in the AlCrTiV high entropy alloy

The AlCrTiV high entropy alloy undergoes an order-disorder transition from body centered cubic (Strukturbericht A2) at high temperatures to the CsCl structure (B2) at intermediate temperatures. We model this transition using first principles Monte Carlo/molecular dynamics simulations. Simulation results yield the temperature-dependent energy, entropy, heat capacity, occupancy fluctuations, and diffraction patterns. The contribution of chemical disorder to the entropy is calculated on the basis of point and pair cluster frequencies. The simulated structures exhibit compensated ferrimagnetism, and the Fermi level lies in a pseudogap. Sensitivity of structure and magnetism to the exchange-correlation functional is discussed, and neutron diffraction experiments are proposed to help resolve the true chemical order.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Vibrational Entropy and Free Energy of Solid Lithium using Covariance of Atomic Displacements Enabled by Machine Learning

Vibrational properties of solids are key to determining stability, response and functionality. However, they are challenging to computationally predict at Ab-Initio accuracy, even for elemental systems. Ab-Initio methods for modeling atomic interactions are limited in the system sizes and simulation times that can be achieved. Due to these limitations, Machine Learning Interatomic Potentials (MLIPs) are gaining popularity and success as a faster, more scalable approach for modeling atomic interactions, potentially at Ab-Initio accuracy. Even with faster potentials, methodologies for predicting entropy, free energy and vibrational properties vary in accuracy, cost and difficulty to implement. Using the Covariance of Atomic Displacements (CAD) to predict entropy, free energy and finite-temperature phonon dispersions is a promising approach but thorough benchmarking has been hampered by the cost of Ab-Initio methods for sampling. In this work, we use a MLIP and the CAD to characterize the convergence of the predicted properties and determine optimal sampling strategies. We focus on solid lithium at zero pressure, showing that the MLIP-CAD approach reproduces experimental entropy, phonon dispersions and the martensitic transition while also comparing to more established methods.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

First principles evaluation of phase stability in the In-Sn binary system

The In-Sn binary alloy system exhibits several unusual features that challenge crystallographic and thermodynamic expectations. We combine first principles total energy calculation with simple thermodynamic modeling to address two key points. First, we evaluate energies along the Bain path to interpret the discontinuous transition between the phases $α$-In (Pearson type tI2) and $β$--In$_3$Sn (also Pearson type tI2) that are identical in symmetry. Second, we demonstrate that the solid solution phases $β$-In$_3$Sn and $γ$-InSn$_4$ (Pearson type hP1) exist at high temperatures only, and they exhibit eutectoid decompositions at low temperatures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Entropy approximations for simple fluids

Liquid state entropy formulas based on configurational probability distributions are examined for Lennard-Jones fluids across a range temperatures and densities. These formulas are based on expansions of the entropy in series of $n$-body distribution functions. We focus on two special cases. One, which we term the ``perfect gas'' series, starts with the entropy of an ideal gas; the other, which we term the ``dense liquid series'' removes a many-body contribution from the ideal gas entropy and reallocates it among the subsequent $n$-body terms. We show that the perfect gas series is most accurate at low density, while the dense liquid series is most accurate at high density. We propose empirical interpolation methods that are capable of connecting the two series and giving consistent predictions in most situations.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2023

Integrated Design of Aluminum-Containing High-entropy Refractory B2 Alloys with Synergy of High Strength and Ductility

Refractory high-entropy alloys, RHEAs, are promising high-temperature structural materials. Their large compositional space poses great design challenges for phase control and high strength-ductility synergy. The present research pioneers using integrated high-throughput machine learning with Monte Carlo simulations to effectively navigate phase-selection and mechanical-properties predictions, developing aluminum-containing RHEAs in single-phase ordered B2 alloys demonstrating both high strength and ductility. These aluminum-containing RHEAs achieve remarkable mechanical properties, including compressive yield strengths up to 1.6 GPa, fracture strains exceeding 50 percent, and significant high-temperature strength retention. They also demonstrate a tensile yield strength of 1.1 GPa with a tension ductility of 6.3 percent. Besides, we identify a valence-electron-count domain for alloy brittleness with the explanation from density-functional theory and provide crucial insights into elements' influence on atomic ordering and mechanical performance. The work sets forth a strategic blueprint for high-throughput alloy design and reveals fundamental principles that govern the mechanical properties of advanced structural alloys.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Ab-initio tensile tests applied to BCC refractory alloys

Refractory metals exhibit high strength at high temperature, but often lack ductility. Multiprinciple element alloys such as high entropy alloys offer the potential to improve ductility while maintaining strength, but we don't know $a-priori$ what compositions will be suitable. A number of measures have been proposed to predict the ductility of metals, notably the Pugh ratio, the Rice-Thomson D-parameter, among others. Here we examine direct $ab-initio$ simulation of deformation under tensile strain, and we apply this to a variety of Nb- and Mo-based binary alloys and to several quaternary alloy systems. Our results exhibit peak stresses for elastic deformation, beyond which defects such as lattice slip, stacking faults, transformation, and twinning, relieve the stress. The peak stress grows strongly with increasing valence electron count. Correlations are examined among several physical properties, including the above-mentioned ductility parameters.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

First principles residual resistivity using locally self-consistent multiple scattering method

The locally self-consistent multiple scattering (LSMS) method can perform efficient first-principles calculations of systems with large number of atoms. In this work, we combine the Kubo-Greenwood equation with LSMS, enabling us to calculate first-principles residual resistivity of large systems. This has been implemented in the open-source code lsms. We apply this method to selected pure elements and binary random alloys. The results compare well with experiment, and with values obtained from a first-principles effective medium technique (KKR-CPA). We discuss future applications of this method to complex systems where other methods are not applicable.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Quasicrystal structure prediction: A review

Predicting quasicrystal structures is a multifaceted problem that can involve predicting a previously unknown phase, predicting the structure of an experimentally observed phase, or predicting the thermodynamic stability of a given structure. We survey the history and current state of these prediction efforts with a focus on methods that have improved our understanding of the structure and stability of known metallic quasicrystal phases. Advances in the structural modeling of quasicrystals, along with first principles total energy calculation and statistical mechanical methods that enable the calculation of quasicrystal thermodynamic stability, are illustrated by means of cited examples of recent work.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Formation enthalpies of Al-Mn-Pd and the structure of the $i$-AlMnPd quasicrystal

This paper reports formation enthalpies of phases in the Al-Mn-Pd ternary alloy system as calculated from first principles using electronic density functional theory. We consider all crystal structures as reported in the assessed phase diagrams of the ternary and its binary alloy subsystems (Al-Mn, Al-Pd, and Mn-Pd), as well as additional reported or hypothetical structures. Icosahedral and decagonal quasicrystalline approximants are among the structures that we predict to be stable, or nearly so. Our results suggest the need for careful experimental reexamination of phase stability in each of the alloy systems, in tandem with further efforts to refine crystallographic and ab-initio structures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Interaction models and configurational entropies of binary MoTa and the MoNbTaW high entropy alloy

We introduce a simplified method to model the interatomic interactions of high entropy alloys based on a lookup table of cluster energies. These interactions are employed in replica exchange Monte Carlo simulations with histogram analysis to obtain thermodynamic properties across a broad temperature range. Kikuchi's Cluster Variation Method entropy formalism and high temperature series expansions are applied to directly calculate entropy from statistics on short- and long-range chemical order, and we discuss the convergence of the entropy as clusters of differing size are included.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Analysis of ab-initio total energies obtained by different DFT implementations

Ab-initio crystal structure prediction depends on accurate calculation of the energies of competing structures. Many DFT codes are available that utilize different approaches to solve the Kohn-Sham equation. We evaluate the consistency of three software packages (WIEN2k, VASP and MuST) that utilize three different methods (FL-APW, plane-wave pseudopotential and the KKR-Green's Function methods) by comparing the relative total energies obtained for a set of BCC and FCC binary metallic alloys. We focus on the impact of choices such as muffin-tin $vs.$ full-potential, angular momentum cutoff and other important KKR parameters. Different alloy systems prove more or less sensitive to these choices, and we explain the differences through study of the angular variation of their potentials. Our results can provide guidance in the application of KKR as a total energy method for structure prediction.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗