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Stefano Mocatti

Publications and source records attributed to Stefano Mocatti.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Efficient Interpolation of the Bethe-Salpeter Hamiltonian at Arbitrary Momenta

We develop an efficient reciprocal-space method to reconstruct the static Bethe-Salpeter (BSE) Hamiltonian at arbitrary crystal momenta from coarse first-principles grids. Bloch states are interpolated within an optimally smooth Wannier subspace, while the screened Coulomb interaction is reconstructed from the dielectric response. This decouples the electron-hole transition momenta and transferred momentum from the underlying ab initio sampling. We benchmark the method on monolayer hBN, monolayer MoS$_2$, and bulk GaAs against explicit ab initio calculations, finding excellent agreement for dense-grid Bloch states, dielectric screening, and BSE optical spectra. Furthermore, our cost analysis estimates speedups of up to $22\times$ on the grids considered here. Arbitrary transferred-momentum sampling gives direct access to the long-wavelength exciton dispersion: in hBN and MoS$_2$, we resolve the nonanalytic behaviour induced by long-range electron-hole exchange at momenta well below the spacing of practical uniform grids. For bulk GaAs, locally refined transition-momentum sampling yields a converged binding energy for the threefold-degenerate lowest exciton, in close agreement with experiment and reference calculations, using far fewer BSE points than conventional uniform meshes. As the present framework provides exciton energies and amplitudes at arbitrary crystal momenta, it opens the way to incorporating ab initio excitonic effects into nonlocal electron-phonon vertices and to extensions towards exciton-phonon interactions and nonequilibrium exciton dynamics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Coherent and Incoherent Time-Resolved Diffuse Scattering Intensity from First Principles

Time-resolved diffuse scattering from X-ray free-electron lasers and ultrafast electron diffraction gives access to the nonequilibrium lattice dynamics of photoexcited solids in reciprocal space. Existing interpretations have often relied on simplified models. Here we present a first-principles formulation of the time-dependent first-order diffuse intensity in which coherent and incoherent contributions emerge on equal footing. By assuming the probe-pulse coherence time to be longer than the characteristic electronic timescales, but shorter than those of the ionic motion, we work in the density-matrix formalism and derive equations of motion for the displacement-displacement correlators in a basis of instantaneous, out-of-equilibrium Born-Oppenheimer normal modes. We show how the incoherent contribution, governed by the phonon occupations, and a coherent contribution, governed by the anomalous phonon correlators, emerge. The non-trivial coherent dynamics is shown to be induced both by the photoinduced phonon-frequency shift and by electron-phonon scattering off the nonequilibrium carrier distribution. We implement the resulting equations using Wannier interpolation in the \textsc{EPI}q code and apply them to photoexcited germanium. The calculated diffuse intensity reproduces both the oscillation frequencies and the rising incoherent background observed experimentally, opening the way to a systematic interpretation of time-resolved diffuse scattering in ultrafast experiments.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Light-Induced Transient Polarization Reversal in Rhombohedrally Stacked Bilayer Transition Metal Dichalcogenides via an Electronic Mechanism

Light-induced sliding ferroelectricity in two-dimensional van der Waals materials enables polarization control via relative layer motion. However, polarization switching occurs on the time scale of shear modes (tens of ps) and requires very large fluences, potentially damaging the samples. Here, using constrained density functional theory and many-body real-time simulations, we demonstrate an ultrafast electronic reversal of the total out-of-plane polarization sign in the photoexcited state, without requiring interlayer sliding, in rhombohedrally stacked transition-metal dichalcogenide bilayers. The polarization changes sign relative to its initial ground-state value at moderate fluences and within $\sim$ 200 fs, about 50 times faster than the typical shear-mode period. The ultrafast switching is driven by a rearrangement of localized dipoles around the tungsten sites. We establish a novel general mechanism for electronic control of low-dimensional ferroelectrics common to all polar multilayers having type II band alignment. Our work has direct implications for ultrahigh-speed volatile optical memory operating on sub-ps time scales.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Nonequilibrium Photocarrier and Phonon Dynamics from First Principles: a Unified Treatment of Carrier-Carrier, Carrier-Phonon, and Phonon-Phonon Scattering

We develop a first-principles many-body framework to describe the dynamics of photocarriers and phonons in semiconductors following ultrafast excitation. Our approach incorporates explicit ab initio light-matter coupling and first-principles collision integrals for carrier-carrier, carrier-phonon, and phonon-phonon scattering. It also yields time-dependent quasiparticle and phonon frequency renormalizations, along with light-induced coherent atomic motion. The equations of motion are solved in a maximally localized Wannier basis, ensuring gauge-consistent scattering integrals and ultradense momentum sampling, thereby enabling direct comparison with pump-probe experiments. The method can be coupled to constrained density-functional theory to access light-induced structural phase transitions at longer times after the light pulse. We showcase the capabilities and predictive power of this framework on MoS$_2$ and h-BN monolayers. For MoS$_2$, we resolve photoinduced renormalizations of electronic and lattice properties, ultrafast carrier relaxation, hot-phonon dynamics, and displacive coherent atomic motion. Including carrier-carrier scattering is crucial to obtain realistic photocarrier equilibration times, while omitting phonon-phonon scattering leads to incorrect long-time lattice thermalization and a factor of two larger A$_{1g}$ coherent phonon damping time. For h-BN, we quantify photoinduced changes in the electronic, optical, and lattice responses in quasi-equilibrium, demonstrating a fluence-dependent enhancement of screening and melting of excitonic features.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Photoinduced phase heterogeneity and charge localization in SnSe

Time-resolved multi-terahertz (THz) spectroscopy is used to observe pump fluence-dependent dynamics in the optical conductivity of photoexcited tin selenide (SnSe) over an ultrabroadband spectral range of 0.5 - 11 THz at fluences from 0.1 - 7.5 mJ/cm$^2$. A free carrier Drude spectrum is observed at pump fluences below 3 mJ/cm$^2$, with optical phonons well described by the equilibrium Pnma structural phase. With increasing fluence, a suppression of the DC photoconductivity is observed, indicating an interruption of long range transport due to phase disorder. Concomitantly, the optical phonons exhibit features that can no longer be explained by a pure Pnma phase, with a frequency shift and narrowing of the $B^2_{1u}$ mode and a new mode appearing at $\sim$3.0 THz consistent with a transition to a higher-symmetry structure. At an intermediate fluence of 3.1 mJ/cm$^2$, a high frequency Lorentzian component consistent with phase heterogeneity appears that rapidly redshifts after 2 ps and whose amplitude exponentially decays on a 90 ps time scale. Our experimental measurements and theoretical calculations provide evidence for a non-thermal, photo-induced nucleation of higher symmetry, semi-metallic phase domains in SnSe appearing within 200 fs.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Wannier interpolation of reciprocal-space periodic and non-periodic matrix elements in the optimally smooth subspace

Maximally localized Wannier functions use the gauge freedom of Bloch wavefunctions to define the optimally smooth subspace with matrix elements that depend smoothly on crystal momentum. The associated Wannier functions are real-space localized, a feature often used to Fourier interpolate periodic observables in reciprocal space on ultradense momentum grids. However, Fourier interpolation cannot handle non-periodic quantities in reciprocal space, such as the oscillator strength matrix elements, which are crucial for the evaluation of optical properties. We show that a direct multidimensional interpolation in the optimally smooth subspace yields comparable accuracy with respect to Fourier interpolation at a similar or lower computational cost. This approach can also interpolate and extrapolate non-periodic observables, enabling the calculation of optical properties on ultradense momentum grids. Finally, we underline that direct interpolation in the optimally smooth subspace can be employed for periodic and non-periodic tensors of any order without any information on the position of the Wannier centers in real space.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Light-Induced Nonthermal Phase Transition to the Topological Crystalline Insulator State in SnSe

Femtosecond pulses have been used to reveal hidden broken symmetry states and induce transitions to metastable states. However, these states are mostly transient and disappear after laser removal. Photoinduced phase transitions towards crystalline metastable states with a change of topological order are rare and difficult to predict and realize experimentally. Here, by using constrained density functional perturbation theory and accounting for light-induced quantum anharmonicity, we show that ultra-fast lasers can permanently transform the topologically-trivial orthorhombic structure of SnSe into the topological crystalline insulating rocksalt phase via a first-order non-thermal phase transition. We describe the reaction path and evaluate the critical fluence and the possible decay channels after photoexcitation. Our simulations of the photoexcited structural and vibrational properties are in excellent agreement with recent pump-probe data in the intermediate fluence regime below the transition with an error on the curvature of the quantum free energy of the photoexcited state that is smaller than 2%.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗