arXiv subjects

Yosuke Kanai

Publications and source records attributed to Yosuke Kanai.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Ab Initio Bethe-Salpeter Equation Approach to Neutral Excitations in Molecules with Numeric Atom-Centered Orbitals

The Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE) based on GW quasiparticle levels is a successful approach for calculating the optical gaps and spectra of solids and also for predicting the neutral excitations of small molecules. We here present an all-electron implementation of the GW+BSE formalism for molecules, using numeric atom-centered orbital (NAO) basis sets. We present benchmarks for low-lying excitation energies for a set of small organic molecules, denoted in the literature as "Thiel's set". Literature reference data based on Gaussian-type orbitals are reproduced to about one meV precision for the molecular benchmark set, when using the same GW quasiparticle energies and basis sets as the input to the BSE calculations. For valence correlation consistent NAO basis sets, as well as for standard NAO basis sets for ground state density-functional theory with extended augmentation functions, we demonstrate excellent convergence of the predicted low-lying excitations to the complete basis set limit. A simple and affordable augmented NAO basis set denoted "tier2+aug2" is recommended as a particularly efficient formulation for production calculations. We finally demonstrate that the same convergence properties also apply to linear-response time-dependent density functional theory within the NAO formalism.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

K-shell Core Electron Excitations in the Electronic Stopping of Protons in Water

Developing a detailed understanding for the role of core electron excitation in liquid water under proton irradiation has become important due to the growing use of proton beams in radiation oncology. Using a first-principles, non-equilibrium simulation approach based on real-time time-dependent density functional theory, we determine the electronic stopping power, the velocity-dependent energy transfer rate from irradiating ions to electrons. The electronic stopping power curve agrees quantitatively over the entire velocity range for which experimental data is available. Also notably, we observe significant differences between our first-principles results and commonly-used perturbation theoretic models. Excitations of the water molecules' oxygen core electrons are a crucial factor in determining the electronic stopping power curve beyond its maximum. The core electron contribution is responsible for as much as one-third of the stopping power at the high proton velocity of 8.0 a.u. (1.6 MeV). These K-shell core electron excitations not only provide an additional channel for the energy transfer but they also significantly influence the valence electron excitation. In the excitation process, generated holes remain highly localized within a few angstroms around the irradiating proton path whereas electrons are excited away from the path. In spite of its great contribution to the electronic stopping power, the K-shell electrons play a rather minor role in terms of the excitation density: Only one percent of the hole population comprises K-shell holes, even at the high proton velocity of 8.0 a.u.. The excitation behavior revealed here is distinctly different from that of X/gamma-ray photon radiation, which is the most commonly used type of ionizing radiation in radiation oncology.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Propagation of maximally localized Wannier functions in real-time TDDFT

Real-time, time-dependent density functional theory (RT-TDDFT) has gained popularity as a first-principles approach to study a variety of excited-state phenomena such as optical excitations and electronic stopping. Within RT-TDDFT simulations, the gauge freedom of the time-dependent electronic orbitals can be exploited for numerical and scientific convenience while the unitary transformation does not alter physical properties calculated from the quantum dynamics of electrons. Exploiting this gauge freedom, we demonstrate propagation of maximally localized Wannier functions within RT-TDDFT. We illustrate its great utility through a number of examples including its application to optical excitation in extended systems using the so-called length gauge, interpreting electronic stopping excitation, and simulating electric field-driven quantized charge transport. We implemented the approach within our plane-wave pseudopotential RT-TDDFT module of the QB@LL code, and performance of the implementation is also discussed.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

Tunable Semiconductors: Control over Carrier States and Excitations in Layered Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Perovskites

For a class of 2D hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite semiconductors based on $π$-conjugated organic cations, we predict quantitatively how varying the organic and inorganic component allows control over the nature, energy and localization of carrier states in a quantum-well-like fashion. Our first-principles predictions, based on large-scale hybrid density-functional theory with spin-orbit coupling, show that the interface between the organic and inorganic parts within a single hybrid can be modulated systematically, enabling us to select between different type-I and type-II energy level alignments. Energy levels, recombination properties and transport behavior of electrons and holes thus become tunable by choosing specific organic functionalizations and juxtaposing them with suitable inorganic components.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

Examining real-time TDDFT non-equilibrium simulations for the calculation of electronic stopping power

In ion irradiation processes, electronic stopping power describes the energy transfer rate from the irradiating ion to the target material's electrons. Due to the scarcity and significant uncertainties in experimental electronic stopping power data for materials beyond simple solids, there has been growing interest in the use of first-principles theory for calculating electronic stopping power. In recent years, advances in high-performance computing have opened the door to fully first-principles nonequilibrium simulations based on real-time time-dependent density functional theory (RT-TDDFT). While it has been demonstrated that the RT-TDDFT approach is capable of predicting electronic stopping power for a wide range of condensed matter systems, there has yet to be an exhaustive examination of the physical and numerical approximations involved and their effects on the calculated stopping power. We discuss the results of such a study for crystalline silicon with protons as irradiating ions. We examine the influences of key approximations in RT-TDDFT nonequilibrium simulations on the calculated electronic stopping power, including approximations related to basis sets, finite size effects, exchange-correlation approximation, pseudopotentials, and more. Finally, we propose a simple and efficient correction scheme to account for the contribution from core-electron excitations to the stopping power, as it was found to be significant for large proton velocities.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

Electronic stopping for protons and α particles from first-principles electron dynamics: The case of silicon carbide

We present the first-principles determination of electronic stopping power for protons and α particles in a semiconductor material of great technological interest: silicon carbide. The calculations are based on nonequilibrium simulations of the electronic response to swift ions using real-time, time-dependent density functional theory (RT-TDDFT). We compare the results from this first-principles approach to those of the widely used linear response formalism and determine the ion velocity regime within which linear response treatments are appropriate. We also use the nonequilibrium electron densities in our simulations to quantitatively address the longstanding question of the velocity-dependent effective charge state of projectile ions in a material, due to its importance in linear response theory. We further examine the validity of the recently proposed centroid path approximation for reducing the computational cost of acquiring stopping power curves from RT-TDDFT simulations.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Diffusion Quantum Monte Carlo Study of Martensitic Phase Transition: The Case of Phosphorene

Recent technical advances in dealing with finite-size errors make quantum Monte Carlo methods quite appealing for treating extended systems in electronic structure calculations, especially when commonly-used density functional theory (DFT) methods might not be satisfactory. We present a theoretical study of martensitic phase transition of a two-dimensional phosphorene by employing diffusion Monte Carlo (DMC) approach to investigate the energetics of this phase transition. The DMC calculation supports DFT prediction of having a rather diffusive barrier that is characterized by having two transition states, in addition to confirming that the so-called black and blue phases of phosphorene are essentially degenerate. At the same time, the calculation shows the importance of treating correlation energy accurately for describing the energy changes in the martensitic phase transition, as is already widely appreciated for chemical bond formation/dissociation. Building on the atomistic characterization of the phase transition process, we also discuss how mechanical strain influences the stabilities of the two phases of phosphorene.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2009

Role of Exchange in Density Functional Theory for Weakly-Interacting Systems: Quantum Monte Carlo Analysis of Electron Density and Interaction Energy

We analyze the density functional theory (DFT) description of weak interactions by employing diffusion and reptation quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) calculations, for a set of benzene-molecule complexes. While the binding energies depend significantly on the exchange correlation approximation employed for DFT calculations, QMC calculations show that the electron density is accurately described within DFT, including the quantitative features in the reduced density gradient. We elucidate how the enhancement of the exchange energy density at a large reduced density gradient plays a critical role in obtaining accurate DFT description of weakly-interacting systems.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗