No Arabic abstract
We report ab initio calculations of the electronic band structure and the phonon dispersion relations of the zincblende-type mercury chalcogenides (beta-HgS, HgSe, and HgTe). The latter have been used to evaluate the temperature dependence of the specific heat which has been compared with experimental data. The electronic band structure of these materials has been confirmed to have an inverted direct gap of the alpha-tin type, which makes HgSe and HgTe semimetallic. For beta-HgS, however, our calculations predict a negative spin-orbit splitting which restores semiconducting properties to the material in spite of the inverted gap. We have calculated the spin-orbit induced linear terms in k which appear at the Gamma_8 valence bands. We have also investigated the pressure dependence of the crystal structure and the phonons.
Using density functional electronic structure calculations, we establish the consequences of surface termination and modification on protected surface-states of metacinnabar (beta-HgS). Whereas we find that the Dirac cone is isotropic and well-separated from the valence band for the (110) surface, it is highly anisotropic at the pure (001) surface. We demonstrate that the anisotropy is modified by surface passivation because the topological surface-states include contributions from dangling bonds. Such dangling bonds exist on all pure surfaces within the whole class HgX with X = S, Se, or Te and directly affect the properties of the Dirac cone. Surface modifications also alter the spatial location (depth and decay length) of the topologically protected edge-states which renders them essential for the interpretation of photoemission data.
We have measured the specific heat of zincblende ZnS for several isotopic compositions and over a broad temperature range (3 to 1100 K). We have compared these results with calculations based on ab initio electronic band structures, performed using both LDA and GGA exchange- correlation functionals. We have compared the lattice dynamics obtained in this manner with experimental data and have calculated the one-phonon and two-phonon densities of states. We have also calculated mode Grueneisen parameters at a number of high symmetry points of the Brillouin zone. The electronic part of our calculations has been used to investigate the effect of the 3d core electrons of zinc on the spin-orbit splitting of the top valence bands. The effect of these core electrons on the band structure of the rock salt modification of ZnS is also discussed.
The magnetic and electronic properties of metal phthalocyanines (MPc) and fluorinated metal phthalocyanines (F$_{16}$MPc) are studied by means of spin density functional theory (SDFT). Several metals (M) such as Ca, all first d-row transition metals and Ag are investigated. By considering different open shell transition metals it is possible to tune the electronic properties of MPc, in particular the electronic molecular gap and total magnetic moment. Besides assigning the structural and electronic properties of MPc and F$_{16}$MPc, the vibrational modes analysis of the ScPctextendash ZnPc series have been studied and correlated to experimental measurements when available.
Experimental investigation as well as theoretical calculations, of the Fe-partial phonon density-of-states (DOS) for nominally Fe_52.5Cr_47.5 alloy having (a) alpha- and (b) sigma-phase structure were carried out. The former at sector 3-ID of the Advanced Photon Source, using the method of nuclear resonant inelastic X-ray scattering, and the latter with the direct method [K. Parlinski et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. {78, 4063 (1997)]. The characteristic features of phonon DOS, which differentiate one phase from the other, were revealed and successfully reproduced by the theory. Various data pertinent to the dynamics such as Lamb-Mossbauer factor, f, kinetic energy per atom, E_k, and the mean force constant, D, were directly derived from the experiment and the theoretical calculations, while vibrational specific heat at constant volume, C_V, and vibrational entropy, S were calculated using the Fe-partial DOS. Using the values of f and C_V, we determined values for Debye temperatures, T_D. An excellent agreement for some quantities derived from experiment and first-principles theory, like C_V and quite good one for others like D and S was obtained.
Addressing the role of quantum coherence in the interplay between the different matter constituents (electrons, phonons and spin) is a critical step towards understanding transition metal oxides and design complex materials with new functionalities. Here we use coherent vibrational control of onsite d-d electronic transitions in a model edge-sharing insulating transition metal oxide (CuGeO3) to single-out the effects of vibrational coherence in electron-phonon coupling. By comparing time domain experiments based on high and low frequency ultrashort pumps with a fully quantum description of phonon assisted absorption, we could distinguish the processes associated to incoherent thermal lattice fluctuations from those driven by the coherent motion of the atoms. In particular, while thermal fluctuation of the phonon bath uniformly increases the electronic absorption, the resonant excitation of phonon modes results also in light-induced transparency which is coherently controlled by the vibrational motion.