arXiv subjects

Thomas Olsen

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas Olsen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Defect Tolerance in Trigonal Selenium Photovoltaics

Understanding how point defects fundamentally influence photovoltaic performance remains a central question for emerging wide-band gap absorbers. Trigonal selenium (t-Se) has recently re-emerged as a promising photovoltaic material due to its near-optimal band gap for tandem and indoor applications. Here we quantify defect-assisted Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination in t-Se using first principles calculations across a large and chemically diverse set of point defects. Our results suggest that t-Se is intrinsically defect tolerant. Despite the presence of multiple deep levels in the gap, recombination via nonradiative multi-phonon emission processes is strongly suppressed by large lattice reorganizations and large energy releases of at least 0.5 EG per recombination event, while radiative defect-assisted capture also remains too small to account for the observed device losses. Consequently, SRH recombination mediated by realistic concentrations of point defects cannot account for the observed efficiency limitations in selenium photovoltaics. We explore trends in both radiative and nonradiative SRH recombination rates across the defect data set, highlighting their complex dependence on defect level position, lattice relaxation, charge state, and doping conditions. These findings establish trigonal selenium as a defect-tolerant wide-band-gap absorber and provide transferable design principles for optimizing next-generation photovoltaic materials for tandem and indoor applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Classifying magnons in itinerant ferromagnets from linear response TDDFT: Fe, Ni and Co revisited

The magnetic excitation spectrum of itinerant magnets exhibits rich and complex spectral features that often complicate interpretation of the underlying physics. For perturbations in the long wavelength limit, one obtains a well defined pole at zero frequency in the spectral function, the Goldstone magnon. However, for optical modes and finite wavevectors, the magnon spectrum may become damped, exhibit branching, or be completely washed out. In the present work, we show how the physical mechanism of all such features can be understood from careful analysis of the eigenmodes of the many-body spectral function. We perform first principles computations of elemental itinerant ferromagnets using a novel implementation of the linear response time-dependent density functional theory (LR-TDDFT) framework and classify the collective nature of individual spectral features based on the self-enhancement function, the product of the noninteracting Kohn-Sham susceptibility and the exchange-correlation kernel. In particular, we distinguish between coherent and incoherent collective excitations, depending on whether the real part of the self-enhancement function crosses unity at the spectral peak of the magnon, which may or may not be subject to Landau damping as quantified by the imaginary part. Classifying the computed magnon spectra accordingly, we observe coexistence of coherent magnon branches in bcc-Fe, as well as decoherence of the primary magnon branch in fcc-Ni for wave vectors near the BZ boundary where incoherent valley magnons instead carry substantial spectral weight. The analysis also naturally leads to a definition of the many-body Stoner spectrum and allows us to quantify the binding energy of the Stoner pair excitations.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Odd-parity Magnetism from the Generalized Bloch Theorem

In the non-relativistic limit, helimagnetic order is always associated with odd-parity magnetism. That is, for single-particle states the expectation value of the electronic spin is odd in crystal momentum, which implies direct control of the spin by means of electric fields. However, the theoretical description of helimagnets is hindered by the fact that the spiral pitch may require large super cells or even be incommensurate with the lattice. In the this letter we show that such issues may be remedied by use of the Generalized Bloch theorem. It allows one to describe (by models or first principles) the system in terms of the primitive unit cell, from which all relevant properties can be obtained by downfolding in reciprocal space. We exemplify the procedure using MnI$_2$ and NiI$_2$, which are known type II multiferroics having spiral order and the helimagnetic metal MnTe$_2$. We analyze how the magnitude of spin splitting depends on orbital composition of bands, and we show that spin splitting is maximized for states having large odd-orbital ($p$-type) character. It is straightforward to generalize the framework to handle response functions for helimagnets using only the primitive unit cell and the present downfolding procedure thus strongly facilitate theoretical progress in the field.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Large-scale Integration of Experimental and Computational Data for 2D Materials

The past decade has seen rapid growth in the number of experimentally realized two-dimensional (2D) materials with diverse chemical and physical properties. However, information on their crystal structure, synthesis routes, and measured or predicted properties, remains scattered across thousands of publications. Here we consolidate this fragmented knowledge by establishing X2DB - an open infrastructure that integrates experimental and computational data on 2D materials. Using extensive literature mining and direct community uploads, we identify 370 unique 2D materials that have been realized in monolayer or few-layer form, and link them to their digital counterparts in computational databases, enabling consistent ab initio characterization of their properties across monolayer, bilayer and bulk forms. We describe the structure and content of the database highlighting its support for community uploads, illustrate how it can be used to generate new scientific insight and introduce a hierarchical classification of the known set of 2D materials. Our work provides a foundation for the integration and cross-fertilization of experimental and theoretical knowledge, opening new avenues for data-driven, predictive synthesis of novel 2D materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Critical temperatures of two dimensional magnets beyond linear spin wave theory: application to CrI$_3$, MPS$_3$ (M=Ni, Mn, Fe) and CrSBr

Magnetic anisotropy is crucial for sustaining long range magnetic order in two-dimensional materials (2D) and must be taken into account by any approximate scheme for calculating critical temperatures. While 2D ferromagnets have received significant attention with regard to predicting Curie temperatures, the treatment of 2D anti-ferromagnetism has largely been restricted to classical approaches, which typically underestimate N\'eel temperatures. The concept of anti-ferromagnetism can be regarded as a special case of single-$Q$ magnetic order, and for such systems the critical temperature can be calculated from the magnon dispersion using either Holstein-Primakoff (HP) bosonization or Green's function-based Random Phase Approximation (RPA). Here, we study the effects of single-ion anisotropy in general single-$Q$ systems in both the HP and RPA methods. In the case of RPA, we generalize the approach to include the Callen Decoupling (CD) correction, which has previously been shown to yield good agreement with experimental Curie temperatures for 2D ferromagnets. We compare the calculated critical temperatures of CrI$_3$ (uniaxial ferromagnet), MPS$_3$ (M=Ni, Mn, Fe) (uniaxial anti-ferromagnets) and CrSBr (triaxial ferromagnet) monolayers with experimental values and find that the Green's function-based methods are much more reliable than HP and that the CD decoupling appears to be more accurate than RPA if the single-ion anisotropy is large.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Ground state magnetic structure of Mn3Sn

We use spherical neutron polarimetry to determine the ground state magnetic structure of Mn3Sn. We find that Mn3Sn adopts an inverse triangular structure with spins parallel to <100> (Type III) rather than spins parallel to <110> (Type IV). Density functional theory calculations reveal no energy difference between these two structures, suggesting that the selection is caused by subtle effects such as sixth-order anisotropy. Partial control of the magnetic domain population through a moderate magnetic field is key to distinguish between the two models. We find that three of the six domains are approximately equally populated, while the others have negligible population. Upon entering the low temperature incommensurate phase, the domain structure is lost. The domains decouple from the magnetic field, and can therefore not be controlled by any known method.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Implementation of the magnetic force theorem for large-scale calculations of magnon bands: application to yttrium iron garnet

We present an efficient implementation of the magnetic force theorem which allows for direct evaluation of exchange parameters in q-space. The exchange parameters are calculated directly from Bloch states and the implementation does not rely on any mapping onto localized orbitals. This renders the approach well suited for high-throughput computations, where the construction of a localized basis set (for example Wannier functions) often is impractical. We demonstrate the versatility of the method by applying it to yttrium iron garnet, where we obtain excellent agreement with the experimental magnon dispersion and Curie temperature without any prior assumptions of important exchange pathways. In particular, the calculations reveal the existence of several inequivalent exchange pathways associated with the same interatomic distances. Performing such calculations in q-space fully accounts for long-range exchange interactions and provides a convenient route for validating models obtained by fitting to inelastic neutron scattering data.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Giant orbital magnetization in two-dimensional materials

Orbital magnetization typically plays a minor role in compounds where the magnetic properties are governed by transition metal elements. However, in some cases, the orbital magnetization may be fully unquenched, which can have dramatic consequences for magnetic anisotropy and various magnetic response properties. In the present work, we start by summarizing how unquenched orbital moments arise from particular combinations of crystal field splitting and orbital filling. We exemplify this for the cases of two-dimensional (2D) VI$_3$ and FePS$_3$, and show that Hubbard corrections as well as self-consistent spin-orbit coupling are crucial ingredients for predicting correct orbital moments from first principles calculations. We then search the Computational 2D Materials Database (C2DB) for monolayers having tetrahedral or octahedral crystal field splitting of transition metal $d$-states and orbital occupancy that is expected to lead to large orbital moments. We identify 112 monolayers with octahedral crystal field splitting and 62 monolayers with tetrahedral crystal field splitting and for materials with partially filled $t_{2g}$ bands, we verify that inclusion of Hubbard corrections as well as self-consistent spin-orbit coupling typically increases the magnitude of predicted orbital moments by an order of magnitude.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Fully characterized linear magnetoelectric response of 2D monolayers from high-throughput first-principles calculations

We screen 4784 stable monolayers from the Computational 2D Materials Database (C2DB) and identify 57 ferromagnetic (FM) and 67 antiferromagnetic (AFM) compounds that should exhibit linear magnetoelectric (ME) effects. Using density functional theory, we compute contributions from the spin and orbital angular momentum as well as lattice-mediated and clamped-ion analogs to fully characterize the linear ME tensor in the static limit. We observe a general trend that AFM ordering gives rise to a larger ME response compared to FM ordered monolayers. Using a typical van der Waals interlayer distance, we find that AFM $\mathrm{Mn}_2\mathrm{SI}_2$ exhibits the strongest component of linear ME response, providing approximately 580 ps/m. This is two orders of magnitude greater than in prototypical $\mathrm{Cr}_2\mathrm{O}_3$ but comparable to the largest ME response measured in bulk $\mathrm{TbPO}_4$ (280-740 ps/m). We also search for antimagnetoelectricity and find a number of FM and AFM compounds with antiferroic tensor entries. By demonstration of select examples and analysis of our full data set, we argue that inclusion of all contributions (spin, orbital, lattice-mediated and clamped-ion) is of crucial importance for reliable predictions of the total ME response.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

The 2D Materials Roadmap

Over the past two decades, 2D materials have rapidly evolved into a diverse and expanding family of material platforms. Many members of this materials class have demonstrated their potential to deliver transformative impact on fundamental research and technological applications across different fields. In this roadmap, we provide an overview of the key aspects of 2D material research and development, spanning synthesis, properties and commercial applications. We specifically present roadmaps for high impact 2D materials, including graphene and its derivatives, transition metal dichalcogenides, MXenes as well as their heterostructures and moir\'e systems. The discussions are organized into thematic sections covering emerging research areas (e.g., twisted electronics, moir\'e nano-optoelectronics, polaritronics, quantum photonics, and neuromorphic computing), breakthrough applications in key technologies (e.g., 2D transistors, energy storage, electrocatalysis, filtration and separation, thermal management, flexible electronics, sensing, electromagnetic interference shielding, and composites) and other important topics (computational discovery of novel materials, commercialization and standardization). This roadmap focuses on the current research landscape, future challenges and scientific and technological advances required to address, with the intent to provide useful references for promoting the development of 2D materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Predicting the N\'eel temperatures in general helimagnetic materials: a comparison between mean field theory, random phase approximation, renormalized spin wave theory and classical Monte Carlo simulations

The critical temperature for magnetic order comprises a crucial property of any magnetic material and ranges from a few Kelvin in certain antiferromagnets to 1400 K in ferromagnetic Co. However, the prediction of critical temperatures based on, for example, a spin wave dispersion is in general non-trivial. For ferromagnets and simple collinear antiferromagnets, estimates may be obtained from the Heisenberg model using either renormalized spin wave theory or the Green's function random phase approximation (RPA), but a systematic assessment of the accuracy of such approaches seems to be lacking in the literature. In this work, we propose generalizations of both renormalized spin wave theory and RPA to calculate the critical temperatures of single-$Q$ helimagnetic ground states, which include ferromagnets and antiferromagnets as special cases. We compare the methods to classical Monte Carlo simulations and Mean field theory, using experimental exchange parameters for a wide range of materials; MnO and NiO (single site N\'eel ground states), MnF$_2$ (altermagnet), Cr$_2$O$_3$ and Fe$_2$O$_3$ (two site N\'eel states) and Ba$_3$NbFe$_3$Si$_2$O$_{14}$ (incommensurate helimagnet). In all cases, we observe that predictions from RPA are in excellent agreement with experimental values and RPA thus constitutes a rather reliable all-purpose method for calculating critical temperatures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Bilayer orthogonal ferromagnetism in CrTe$_2$-based van der Waals system

Systems with pronounced spin anisotropy play a pivotal role in advancing magnetization switching and spin-wave generation mechanisms, which are fundamental for spintronic technologies. Quasi-van der Waals ferromagnets, particularly Cr$_{1+\delta}$Te$_2$ compounds, represent seminal materials in this field, renowned for their delicate balance between frustrated layered geometries and magnetism. Despite extensive investigation, the precise nature of their magnetic ground state, typically described as a canted ferromagnet, remains contested, as does the mechanism governing spin reorientation under external magnetic fields and varying temperatures. In this work, we leverage a multimodal approach, integrating complementary techniques, to reveal that Cr$_{1+\delta}$Te$_2$ ($\delta = 0.25 - 0.50$) hosts a previously overlooked magnetic phase, which we term orthogonal-ferromagnetism. This single phase consists of alternating atomically sharp single layers of in-plane and out-of-plane ferromagnetic blocks, coupled via exchange interactions and as such, it differs significantly from crossed magnetism, which can be achieved exclusively by stacking multiple heterostructural elements together. Contrary to earlier reports suggesting a gradual spin reorientation in CrTe$_2$-based systems, we present definitive evidence of abrupt spin-flop-like transitions. This discovery, likely due to the improved crystallinity and lower defect density in our samples, repositions Cr$_{1+\delta}$Te$_2$ compounds as promising candidates for spintronic and orbitronic applications, opening new pathways for device engineering.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Effect of Hubbard U corrections on the electronic and magnetic properties of 2D materials: A high-throughput study

We conduct a systematic investigation of the role of Hubbard U corrections in electronic structure calculations of two-dimensional (2D) materials containing 3d transition metals. Specifically, we use density functional theory (DFT) with the PBE and PBE+U approximations to calculate the crystal structure, band gaps, and magnetic parameters of 638 monolayers. Based on a comprehensive comparison to experiments we first establish that inclusion of the U correction worsens the accuracy for the lattice constant. Consequently, PBE structures are used for subsequent property evaluations. The band gaps show significant dependence on the U-parameter. In particular, for 134 (21%) of the materials the U parameter leads to a metal-insulator transition. For the magnetic materials we calculate the magnetic moment, magnetic exchange coupling, and magnetic anisotropy parameters. In contrast to the band gaps, the size of the magnetic moments shows only weak dependence on U. Both the exchange energies and magnetic anisotropy parameters are systematically reduced by the U correction. On this basis we conclude that the Hubbard U correction will lead to lower predicted Curie temperatures in 2D materials. All the calculated properties are available in the Computational 2D Materials Database (C2DB).

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Magnetoelectric behavior of breathing kagom\'{e} monolayers of $\mathrm{Nb}_3\mathrm{(Cl, Br, I)}_8$ from first-principles calculations

We apply density functional theory to explore the magnetoelectric (ME) properties of two-dimensional $\mathrm{Nb}_3\mathrm{(Cl,Br,I)}_8$. These compounds have recently been proposed to exhibit coupled ferroelectric and ferromagnetic order leading to a switchable anomalous valley Hall effect (AVHE). Using both spin-spiral and self-consistent spin-orbit coupled calculations, we predict an in-plane $120^\circ$ cycloid of trimerized spins as the ground state for $\mathrm{Nb}_3\mathrm{Cl}_8$. For $\mathrm{Nb}_3\mathrm{Br}_8$ and $\mathrm{Nb}_3\mathrm{I}_8$ we find long period incommensurate helical order. We calculate a number of magnetic properties such as the exchange constants, orbital magnetization, and Weiss temperatures. It is then shown that, despite having both broken inversion and time-reversal symmetry, the proposed AVHE and linear ME response are forbidden by the presence of helical order in the ground state. In addition, the computed switching trajectory demonstrates that it is unlikely that the polar state of the monolayers can be switched with a homogeneous electric field due to an unusual equation of state of the out-of-plane dipole moment. Nevertheless, we highlight that in the presence of a strong electric field, the trimerized spins in $\mathrm{Nb}_3\mathrm{Cl}_8$ will exhibit a magnetic phase transition from the $120^\circ$ cycloid to out-of-plane ferromagnetic order, which restores the symmetry required for both AVHE and linear ME effects.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Orbital magnetization in two-dimensional materials from high-throughput computational screening

We calculate the orbital magnetization of 822 two-dimensional magnetic materials from the Computational 2D Materials Database (C2DB). For compounds containing 5$d$ elements we find orbital moments of the order of 0.3-0.5 $\mu_\mathrm{B}$, which points to the necessity of including these in any type of magnetic modeling and comparison with experiments. It is also shown that the alignment of orbital moments with respect to the spin largely follows the predictions from Hund's rule and that deviations may be explained by the $d$-band splitting originating from the crystal field - for example in the important case of CrI$_3$. Finally, we show that for certain insulators, Hubbard corrections may lead to large and fully unquenched orbital moments that are pinned to the lattice rather than the spin and that these moments can lead to enormous magnetic anisotropies. Such unquenched ground states are only found from density functional theory calculations that include both Hubbard corrections and self-consistent spin-orbit coupling and largely invalidates the use of the magnetic force theorem for calculating magnetic anisotropies.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Beyond the random phase approximation for calculating Curie temperatures in ferromagnets: application to Fe, Ni, Co and monolayer CrI3

The magnetic properties of solids are typically analyzed in terms of Heisenberg models where the electronic structure is approximated by interacting localized spins. However, even in such models the evaluation of thermodynamic properties constitutes a major challenge and is usually handled by a mean field decoupling scheme. The random phase approximation (RPA) comprises a common approach and is often applied to evaluate critical temperatures although it is well known that the method is only accurate well below the critical temperature. In the present work we compare the performance of the RPA with a different decoupling scheme proposed by Callen as well as the mean field decoupling of interacting Holstein-Primakoff (HP) magnons. We consider three-dimensional (3D) as well as two-dimensional (2D) model systems where the Curie temperature is governed by anisotropy. In 3D, the Callen method is the most accurate in the classical limit, and we show that the Callen decoupling produces the best agreement with experiments for bcc Fe, fcc Ni and fcc Co with exchange interactions obtained from first principles. In contrast, for low spin systems where a quantum mechanical treatment in pertinent, the HP and RPA methods appear are superior to the Callen decoupling. In 2D systems with magnetic order driven by single-ion anisotropy, it is shown that HP fails rather dramatically and both RPA and Callen approaches severely overestimates Curie temperatures. The most accurate approach is then constructed by combining RPA with the Callen decoupling of single-ion anisotropy, which yields the correct lack of order for S=1/2. We exemplify this by the case of monolayer CrI3 using exchange constant extracted from experiments.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Linear magnetoelectricity in the Zintl phase pnictides (Ba, Ca, Sr)$\mathrm{Mn}_2\mathrm{(P, As, Sb)}_2$ from first principles calculations

We report a comprehensive set of density functional theory calculations on the family of layered antiferromagnetic manganese pnictides (Ba, Ca, Sr)$\mathrm{Mn}_2\mathrm{(P, As, Sb)}_2$. We characterize all components to the linear magnetoelectric (ME) tensor $\alpha$ which are parsed into their contributions from spin and orbital moments for both lattice-mediated and their clamped-ion electronic analogs. Our main results show that the orbital magnetization components cannot be neglected in these systems. The ME response is dominated by electronic effects with total $\alpha$ values exceeding those of the prototypical $\mathrm{Cr}_2\mathrm{O}_3$ (i.e. $\alpha \simeq$ 6.79 ps/m in $\mathrm{BaMn}_2\mathrm{As}_2$). We also identify a strong correlation with the computed ME susceptibility on pnictogen substitution in the trigonal subfamily albeit with weaker amplitudes ($\alpha \simeq$ 0.2-1.7 ps/m). Additionally, we provide the dependence of these predictions on the Hubbard +U correction, at the level of the local density approximation, which show large variations on the calculated ME coefficients in the tetragonal compounds highlighting the role of strong correlation in these compounds.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Uncovering the lowest thickness limit for room-temperature ferromagnetism of Cr$_{1.6}$Te$_{2}$

Metallic ferromagnetic transition metal dichalcogenides have emerged as important building blocks for scalable magnonics and memory applications. Downscaling such systems to the ultra-thin limit is critical to integrate them into technology. Here, we achieved layer-by-layer control over the transition metal dichalcogenide Cr$_{1.6}$Te$_{2}$ by using pulsed laser deposition, and we uncovered the minimum critical thickness above which room temperature magnetic order is maintained. The electronic and magnetic structure is explored experimentally and theoretically and it is shown that the films exhibit strong in-plane magnetic anisotropy as a consequence of large spin-orbit effects. Our study elucidates both magnetic and electronic properties of Cr$_{1.6}$Te$_{2}$, and corroborates the importance of intercalation to tune the magnetic properties of nanoscale materials architectures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗