arXiv subjects

Zien Zhu

Publications and source records attributed to Zien Zhu.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Ab initio time-dependent GW approach for nonequilibrium exciton-phonon coupled dynamics across momentum space

The dynamics of optical excitations in materials generally involves intertwined electron-hole (e-h) and electron-phonon (e-ph) interactions out of equilibrium. However, a full theoretical description of such nonequilibrium dynamics requires a systematic treatment of the coherent excitonic excitations and exciton-phonon interactions across the entire crystal momentum space in real time, which remains a major challenge and out of reach for first-principles approaches. Here, we present a new ab initio time-dependent adiabatic GW methodology that incorporates full finite-momentum e-h and e-ph couplings, enabling real-time simulations of the coherently coupled exciton-phonon dynamics. The excitonic excitations are naturally described by the equation of motion of the interacting single-particle density matrix, whereas their couplings to phonons are formulated within a linear-response framework, hence the simulations can be efficiently carried out within a primitive unit cell. We demonstrate the capabilities of this new approach by investigating the direct-to-indirect exciton transitions in monolayer WSe2 in a pump-probe setup of time-resolved and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Our results reveal that the phonon-mediated ultrafast intervalley dynamics of excitons of this system is within ~0.5 ps, manifested as in-gap photoemission intensity transfer from the K-valley to the Q-valley. This work establishes a comprehensive and practical nonequilibrium Green's function framework for accurately simulating nonequilibrium and coherent excitations involving coupled excitons and phonons from first principles.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Many-Body Correlation Effects in Fr\"ohlich Electron-Phonon Coupling

In compound semiconductors and insulators, the polar electron-phonon coupling diverges at long range, known as the Fr\"ohlich interaction. Modern first-principles electron-phonon calculations treat the Fr\"ohlich interaction in a semiclassical electrostatic formalism based on density-functional perturbation theory. Here, using many-body $GW$ perturbation theory, we reveal important electron correlation effects in the Fr\"ohlich-type electron-phonon coupling, which are missed by the prevailing approaches and rooted in the fundamentally distinct behavior between quasiparticle self-energy and semi-local exchange-correlation functionals in the long-range limit. Going beyond the electrostatic treatment, we derive and implement the $GW$ self-energy contribution to the long-range polar electron-phonon coupling, and demonstrate its critical role and nontrivial behaviors in properties such as electron linewidth and polaron formation in several prototype semiconductors. Remarkably, calculations on photoemission kink in electron-doped TiO$_2$ achieve excellent agreement with experiment. Our work establishes the many-body generalization of the Fr\"ohlich interaction that is essential for accurate electron-phonon calculations at the full $GW$ level combined with Wannier interpolation techniques.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Moir\'e excitons in generalized Wigner crystals

Moir\'e superlattices of transition-metal dichalcogenide bilayers host strong Coulomb interactions residing in narrow electron bands, leading to correlated insulating states at fractional carrier doping densities, known as generalized Wigner crystals. In excited states, the formation of moir\'e excitons is expected to be fundamentally shaped by the Wigner-crystal ground states, manifesting an intricate interplay between electronic and excitonic correlations. However, the microscopic description of these Wigner crystalline excitons (WCEs) remains elusive, largely subject to speculations, and is further needed for the understanding of exotic excitonic phases (e.g., exciton insulators and exciton density waves) and their unique properties (e.g., anomalous exciton diffusion). Here, using first-principles many-body GW-Bethe-Salpeter-equation calculations, we directly reveal the internal structures of WCEs in angle-aligned MoSe2/MoS2 moir\'e heterostructure at hole fillings of 1/3 and 2/3. Our results unveil the propagation of correlation effects from the ground state to excited states, shaping the real-space characteristics of WCEs. The strong two-particle excitonic correlations dominate over the kinetic energy of free electron-hole pairs, in analog to the strong single-particle correlations of flat bands. We propose that such unusual excited-state correlation effects of WCEs can be experimentally probed by photocurrent tunneling microscopy. Our work provides a microscopic understanding of strongly correlated WCEs, suggesting them as a highly tunable mixed boson-fermion platform to study many-body interactions and phenomena.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

IsoME: Streamlining High-Precision Eliashberg Calculations

This paper introduces the Julia package IsoME, an easy-to-use yet accurate and robust computational tool designed to calculate superconducting properties. Multiple levels of approximation are supported, ranging from the basic McMillan-Allen-Dynes formula and its machine learning-enhanced variant to Eliashberg theory including static Coulomb interactions derived from $GW$ calculations, offering a fully ab initio approach to determine superconducting properties, such as the critical superconducting temperature ($T_\text{c}$) and the superconducting gap function ($\Delta$). We validate IsoME by benchmarking it against various materials, demonstrating its versatility and performance across different theoretical levels. The findings indicate that the previously held assumption that Eliashberg theory overestimates $T_\text{c}$ is no longer valid when $\mu^*$ is appropriately adjusted to account for the finite Matsubara frequency cutoff. Furthermore, we conclude that the constant density of states (DOS) approximation remains accurate in most cases. By unifying multiple approximation schemes within a single framework, IsoME combines first-principles precision with computational efficiency, enabling seamless integration into high-throughput workflows through its $T_\text{c}$ search mode. This makes IsoME a powerful and reliable tool for advancing superconductivity research.

cond-mat.supr-con↗