New Physics of the 30∘30^\circ Partial Dislocation in Silicon Revealed through {\em Ab Initio} Calculation

Based on {\em ab initio} calculation, we propose a new structure for the fundamental excitation of the reconstructed 30$^\circ$ partial dislocation in silicon. This soliton has a rare structure involving a five-fold coordinated atom near the dislocation core. The unique electronic structure of this defect is consistent with the electron spin resonance signature of the hitherto enigmatic thermally stable R center of plastically deformed silicon. We present the first {\em ab initio} determination of the free energy of the soliton, which is also in agreement with the experimental observation. This identification suggests the possibility of an experimental determination of the density of solitons, a key defect in understanding the plastic flow of the material.Comment: 6 pages, 5 postscript figure

Robust ab initio calculation of condensed matter: transparent convergence through semicardinal multiresolution analysis

We present the first wavelet-based all-electron density-functional calculations to include gradient corrections and the first in a solid. Direct comparison shows this approach to be unique in providing systematic ``transparent'' convergence, convergence with a priori prediction of errors, to beyond chemical (millihartree) accuracy. The method is ideal for exploration of materials under novel conditions where there is little experience with how traditional methods perform and for the development and use of chemically accurate density functionals, which demand reliable access to such precision.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 4 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. (updated to include GGA

A Multiscale Approach to Determination of Thermal Properties and Changes in Free Energy: Application to Reconstruction of Dislocations in Silicon

We introduce an approach to exploit the existence of multiple levels of description of a physical system to radically accelerate the determination of thermodynamic quantities. We first give a proof of principle of the method using two empirical interatomic potential functions. We then apply the technique to feed information from an interatomic potential into otherwise inaccessible quantum mechanical tight-binding calculations of the reconstruction of partial dislocations in silicon at finite temperature. With this approach, comprehensive ab initio studies at finite temperature will now be possible.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Beyond Wavelets: Exactness theorems for physical calculations

. This paper develops the use of wavelets as a basis set for the solution of physical problems exhibiting behavior over wide-ranges in length scale. In a simple diagrammatic language, this article reviews both the mathematical underpinnings of wavelet theory and the algorithms behind the fast wavelet transform. This article underscores the fact that traditional wavelet bases are fundamentally ill-suited for physical calculations and shows how to go beyond these limitations by the introduction of the new concept of semicardinality, which allows basic physical couplings to be computed exactly from very sparse information, thereby overcoming the limitations of traditional wavelet bases in the treatment of physical problems. The paper then explores the convergence rate of conjugate gradient solution of the Poisson equation in both semicardinal and lifted wavelet bases and shows the first solution of the Kohn-Sham equations using a novel variational principle. 1 Introduction Problems in the..