arXiv subjects

Michel Côté

Publications and source records attributed to Michel Côté.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

Efficient dielectric matrix calculations using the Lanczos algorithm for fast many-body $G_0W_0$ implementations

We present a $G_0W_0$ implementation that assesses the two major bottlenecks of traditional plane-waves implementations, the summations over conduction states and the inversion of the dielectric matrix, without introducing new approximations in the formalism. The first bottleneck is circumvented by converting the summations into Sternheimer equations. Then, the novel avenue of expressing the dielectric matrix in a Lanczos basis is developed, which reduces the matrix size by orders of magnitude while being computationally efficient. We also develop a model dielectric operator that allows us to further reduce the size of the dielectric matrix without accuracy loss. Furthermore, we develop a scheme that reduces the numerical cost of the contour deformation technique to the level of the lightest plasmon pole model. Finally, the use of the simplified quasi-minimal residual scheme in replacement of the conjugate gradients algorithm allows a direct evaluation of the $G_0W_0$ corrections at the desired real frequencies, without need for analytical continuation. The performance of the resulting $G_0W_0$ implementation is demonstrated by comparison with a traditional plane-waves implementation, which reveals a 500-fold speedup for the silane molecule. Finally, the accuracy of our $G_0W_0$ implementation is demonstrated by comparison with other $G_0W_0$ calculations and experimental results.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2014

The temperature dependence of electronic eigenenergies in the adiabatic harmonic approximation

The renormalization of electronic eigenenergies due to electron-phonon interactions (temperature dependence and zero-point motion effect) is important in many materials. We address it in the adiabatic harmonic approximation, based on first principles (e.g. Density-Functional Theory), from different points of view: directly from atomic position fluctuations or, alternatively, from Janak's theorem generalized to the case where the Helmholtz free energy, including the vibrational entropy, is used. We prove their equivalence, based on the usual form of Janak's theorem and on the dynamical equation. We then also place the Allen-Heine-Cardona (AHC) theory of the renormalization in a first-principle context. The AHC theory relies on the rigid-ion approximation, and naturally leads to a self-energy (Fan) contribution and a Debye-Waller contribution. Such a splitting can also be done for the complete harmonic adiabatic expression, in which the rigid-ion approximation is not required. A numerical study within the Density-Functional Perturbation theory framework allows us to compare the AHC theory with frozen-phonon calculations, with or without the rigid-ion terms. For the two different numerical approaches without rigid-ion terms, the agreement is better than 7 $μ$eV in the case of diamond, which represent an agreement to 5 significant digits. The magnitude of the non rigid-ion terms in this case is also presented, distinguishing specific phonon modes contributions to different electronic eigenenergies.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2013

Direct observation of ultrafast long-range charge separation at polymer:fullerene heterojunctions

In polymeric semiconductors, charge carriers are polarons, which means that the excess charge deforms the molecular structure of the polymer chain that hosts it. This effect results in distinctive signatures in the vibrational modes of the polymer. We probe polaron photo- generation dynamics at polymer:fullerene heterojunctions by monitoring its time-resolved resonance-Raman spectrum following ultrafast photoexcitation. We conclude that polarons emerge within 200 fs, which is nearly two orders of magnitude faster than exciton localisation in the neat polymer film. Surprisingly, further vibrational evolution on <50-ps timescales is modest, indicating that the polymer conformation hosting nascent polarons is not signif- icantly different from that in equilibrium. This suggests that charges are free from their mutual Coulomb potential, under which vibrational dynamics would report charge-pair relaxation. Our work addresses current debates on the photocarrier generation mechanism at organic semiconductor heterojunctions, and is, to our knowledge, the first direct probe of molecular conformation dynamics during this fundamentally important process in these materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2013

Two-dimensional spatial coherence of excitons in semicrystalline polymeric semiconductors: The effect of molecular weight

The electronic properties of macromolecular semiconductor thin films depend profoundly on their solid-state microstructure, which in turn is governed, among other things, by the processing conditions selected and the polymer chemical nature and molecular weight. Specifically, low-molecular-weight materials form crystalline domains of cofacially $π$-stacked molecules, while the usually entangled nature of higher molecular-weight polymers leads to microstructures comprised of molecularly ordered crystallites interconnected by amorphous regions. Here, we examine the interplay between extended exciton states delocalized along the polymer backbones and across polymer chains within the $π$-stack, depending on the structural development with molecular weight. We combine optical spectroscopies, thermal probes, and theoretical modeling, focusing on neat poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), one of the most extensively studied polymer semiconductors, of weight-average molecular weight of 3-450\,kg/mol. The spatial coherence within the chain is significantly reduced (by nearly 30\%). These observations give valuable structural information; they suggest that the macromolecules in aggregated regions of high-molecular-weight P3HT adopt a more planar conformation compared to low-molecular-weight materials. This results in the observed increase in intrachain exciton coherence. In contrast, shorter chains seem to lead to torsionally more disordered architectures. A rigorous, fundamental description of primary photoexcitations in $π$-conjugated polymers is hence developed: two-dimensional excitons are defined by the chain-length dependent molecular arrangement and interconnectivity of the conjugated macromolecules, leading to interplay between intramolecular and intermolecular spatial coherence.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

Bromophenyl functionalization of carbon nanotubes : an ab initio study

We study the thermodynamics of bromophenyl functionalization of carbon nanotubes with respect to diameter and metallic/insulating character using density-functional theory (DFT). On one hand, we show that the activation energy for the grafting of a bromophenyl molecule onto a semiconducting zigzag nanotube ranges from 0.73 eV to 0.76 eV without any clear trend with respect to diameter within numerical accuracy. On the other hand, the binding energy of a single bromophenyl molecule shows a clear diameter dependence and ranges from 1.51 eV for a (8,0) zigzag nanotube to 0.83 eV for a (20,0) zigzag nanotube. This is in part explained by the transition from sp2 to sp3 bonding occurring to a carbon atom of a nanotube when a phenyl is grafted to it and the fact that smaller nanotubes are closer to a sp3 hybridization than larger ones due to increased curvature. Since a second bromophenyl unit can attach without energy barrier next to an isolated grafted unit, they are assumed to exist in pairs. The para configuration is found to be favored for the pairs and their binding energy decreases with increasing diameter, ranging from 4.34 eV for a (7,0) nanotube to 2.27 eV for a (29,0) nanotube. An analytic form for this radius dependence is derived using a tight binding hamiltonian and first order perturbation theory. The 1/R^2 dependance obtained (where R is the nanotube radius) is verified by our DFT results within numerical accuracy. Finally, metallic nanotubes are found to be more reactive than semiconducting nanotubes, a feature that can be explained by a non-zero density of states at the Fermi level for metallic nanotubes.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Electron-phonon coupling in the C60 fullerene within the many-body GW approach

We study the electron-phonon coupling in the C60 fullerene within the first-principles GW approach, focusing on the lowest unoccupied t1u three-fold electronic state which is relevant for the superconducting transition in electron doped fullerides. It is shown that the strength of the coupling is significantly enhanced as compared to standard density functional theory calculations with (semi)local functionals, with a 48% increase of the electron-phonon potential Vep. The calculated GW value for the contribution from the Hg modes of 93 meV comes within 4% of the most recent experimental values. The present results call for a reinvestigation of previous density functional based calculations of electron-phonon coupling in covalent systems in general.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2011

DFT+U study of magnetic order in doped La$_2$CuO$_4$ crystals

This article presents the results of several magnetic phases of doped La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ using density-functional theory with an added Hubbard term (DFT+U). Doping factors from $x=0$ to 0.25 were examined. We found that a bond centered stripe is the magnetic ground state for $x=1/8$ and $x=1/4$. No stable stripe order was found for $x=1/6$. Analysis of the electron density revealed that apical oxygen atoms, those located above and below the copper atoms in the CuO$_2$ planes, hold a non negligible part of the holes at large doping and present a small spin polarization. Finally, the charge reorganization caused by the magnetic stripe modulation was studied for bond centered and atom centered stripes.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

Superconductivity near lattice instability: the case of NbC$_{1-x}$N$_x$ and NbN

Using density functional theory within the local density approximation we report a study of the electron-phonon coupling in NbC$_{1-x}$N$_x$ and NbN crystals in the rocksalt structure. The Fermi surface of these systems exhibits important nesting. The associated Kohn anomaly greatly increases the electron-phonon coupling and induces a structural instability when the electronic density of states reaches a critical value. Our results reproduce the observed rise in $T_{c}$ from 11.2 K to 17.3 K as the nitrogen doping is increased in NbC$_{1-x}$N$_x$. To further understand the contribution of the structural instability to the rise of the superconducting temperature, we develop a model for the Eliashberg spectral function in which the effect of the unstable phonons is set apart. We show that this model together with the McMillan formula can reproduce the increase of $T_{c}$ near the structural phase transition.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2010

Peierls Instability in Carbon Nanotubes

We present a first-principles study of Peierls distortions in \emph{trans}-polyacetylene, polyacene, and armchair $(n,n)$ carbon nanotubes. Our findings suggest that the ground-state geometries of armchair $(n,n)$ carbon nanotubes, with $n$ up to 6, exhibit a Peierls distortion as it is found for \emph{trans}-polyactetylene. In contrast to previous studies in which no Peierls distortion is found with conventional local and semi-local density functionals, we use a hybrid functional whose exact-exchange admixture has been specifically optimized for the problem at hand.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2006

Ab initio study of ladder-type polymers polythiophene and polypyrrole

This article presents an \textit{ab initio} study of four polymers, polythiophene, polypyrrole, ladder-type polythiophene, and ladder-type polypyrrole. Upon an analysis of the variation of the band gap when comparing the unconstrained and the ladder-type polymers, a discrepancy was found between the thiophene and the pyrrole polymer families. For polythiophene, the ladder-type polymer has a larger gap than the unconstrained polymer whereas the opposite is found for the pyrrole polymers. The structural properties and the charge densities using the Bader charge analysis of these four compounds are investigated. The different band gap behaviors in thiophene and pyrrole polymers can be explained in terms of the competition between the bond length alternation and the effect of the charge density in the carbon backbone.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗