162 research outputs found
The dual nature of 5f electrons and origin of heavy fermions in U compounds
We develop a theory for the electronic excitations in UPt which is based
on the localization of two of the electrons. The remaining electron is
delocalized and acquires a large effective mass by inducing intra-atomic
excitations of the localized ones. The measured deHaas-vanAlphen frequencies of
the heavy quasiparticles are explained as well as their anisotropic heavy mass.
A model calculation for a small cluster reveals why only the largest of the
different hopping matrix elements is operative causing the electrons in
other orbitals to localize.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Modeling the actinides with disordered local moments
A first-principles disordered local moment (DLM) picture within the
local-spin-density and coherent potential approximations (LSDA+CPA) of the
actinides is presented. The parameter free theory gives an accurate description
of bond lengths and bulk modulus. The case of -Pu is studied in
particular and the calculated density of states is compared to data from
photo-electron spectroscopy. The relation between the DLM description, the
dynamical mean field approach and spin-polarized magnetically ordered modeling
is discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
The influence of defects on magnetic properties of fcc-Pu
The influence of vacancies and interstitial atoms on magnetism in Pu has been
considered in frames of the Density Functional Theory (DFT). The relaxation of
crystal structure arising due to different types of defects was calculated
using the molecular dynamic method with modified embedded atom model (MEAM).
The LDA+U+SO (Local Density Approximation with explicit inclusion of Coulomb
and spin-orbital interactions) method in matrix invariant form was applied to
describe correlation effects in Pu with these types of defects. The
calculations show that both vacancies and interstitials give rise to local
moments in -shell of Pu in good agreement with experimental data for
annealed Pu. Magnetism appears due to destroying of delicate balance between
spin-orbital and exchange interactions.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure
Thermal Equation of State of Tantalum
We have investigated the thermal equation of state of tantalum from first
principles using the Linearized Augmented Plane Wave (LAPW) and pseudopotential
methods for pressures up to 300 GPa and temperatures up to 10000 K. The
equation of state at zero temperature was computed using LAPW. For finite
temperatures, mixed basis pseudopotential computations were performed for 54
atom supercells. The vibrational contributions were obtained by computing the
partition function using the particle in a cell model, and the the finite
temperature electronic free energy was obtained from the LAPW band structures.
We discuss the behavior of thermal equation of state parameters such as the
Gr\"uneisen parameter , , the thermal expansivity , the
Anderson-Gr\"uneisen parameter as functions of pressure and
temperature. The calculated Hugoniot shows excellent agreement with shock-wave
experiments. An electronic topological transition was found at approximately
200 GPa
Structure and Dynamics of Liquid Iron under Earth's Core Conditions
First-principles molecular dynamics simulations based on density-functional
theory and the projector augmented wave (PAW) technique have been used to study
the structural and dynamical properties of liquid iron under Earth's core
conditions. As evidence for the accuracy of the techniques, we present PAW
results for a range of solid-state properties of low- and high-pressure iron,
and compare them with experimental values and the results of other
first-principles calculations. In the liquid-state simulations, we address
particular effort to the study of finite-size effects, Brillouin-zone sampling
and other sources of technical error. Results for the radial distribution
function, the diffusion coefficient and the shear viscosity are presented for a
wide range of thermodynamic states relevant to the Earth's core. Throughout
this range, liquid iron is a close-packed simple liquid with a diffusion
coefficient and viscosity similar to those of typical simple liquids under
ambient conditions.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure
Iron under Earth's core conditions: Liquid-state thermodynamics and high-pressure melting curve
{\em Ab initio} techniques based on density functional theory in the
projector-augmented-wave implementation are used to calculate the free energy
and a range of other thermodynamic properties of liquid iron at high pressures
and temperatures relevant to the Earth's core. The {\em ab initio} free energy
is obtained by using thermodynamic integration to calculate the change of free
energy on going from a simple reference system to the {\em ab initio} system,
with thermal averages computed by {\em ab initio} molecular dynamics
simulation. The reference system consists of the inverse-power pair-potential
model used in previous work. The liquid-state free energy is combined with the
free energy of hexagonal close packed Fe calculated earlier using identical
{\em ab initio} techniques to obtain the melting curve and volume and entropy
of melting. Comparisons of the calculated melting properties with experimental
measurement and with other recent {\em ab initio} predictions are presented.
Experiment-theory comparisons are also presented for the pressures at which the
solid and liquid Hugoniot curves cross the melting line, and the sound speed
and Gr\"{u}neisen parameter along the Hugoniot. Additional comparisons are made
with a commonly used equation of state for high-pressure/high-temperature Fe
based on experimental data.Comment: 16 pages including 6 figures and 5 table
High Pressure Thermoelasticity of Body-centered Cubic Tantalum
We have investigated the thermoelasticity of body-centered cubic (bcc)
tantalum from first principles by using the linearized augmented plane wave
(LAPW) and mixed--basis pseudopotential methods for pressures up to 400 GPa and
temperatures up to 10000 K. Electronic excitation contributions to the free
energy were included from the band structures, and phonon contributions were
included using the particle-in-a-cell (PIC) model. The computed elastic
constants agree well with available ultrasonic and diamond anvil cell data at
low pressures, and shock data at high pressures. The shear modulus and
the anisotropy change behavior with increasing pressure around 150 GPa because
of an electronic topological transition. We find that the main contribution of
temperature to the elastic constants is from the thermal expansivity. The PIC
model in conjunction with fast self-consistent techniques is shown to be a
tractable approach to studying thermoelasticity.Comment: To be appear in Physical Review
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