A dynamical generalisation of the nonlocal coherent-potential approximation is derived based upon the functional integral approach to the interacting electron problem. The free energy is proven to be variational with respect to the self-energy provid
ed a self-consistency condition on a cluster of sites is satisfied. In the present work, calculations are performed within the static approximation and the effect of the nonlocal physics on the formation of the local moment state in a simple model is investigated. The results reveal the importance of the dynamical correlations.
We investigate the electronic and magnetic properties of the frustrated triangular-lattice antiferromagnets Cs$_2$CuCl$_4$ and Cs$_2$CuBr$_4$ in the framework of density functional theory. Analysis of the exchange couplings J and J using the availabl
e X-ray structural data corroborates the values obtained from experimental results for Cs$_2$CuBr$_4$ but not for Cs$_2$CuCl$_4$. In order to understand this discrepancy, we perform a detailed study of the effect of structural optimization on the exchange couplings of Cs$_2$CuCl$_4$ employing different exchange-correlation functionals. We find that the exchange couplings depend on rather subtle details of the structural optimization and that only when the insulating state (mediated through spin polarization) is present in the structural optimization, we do have good agreement between the calculated and the experimentally determined exchange couplings. Finally, we discuss the effect of interlayer couplings as well as longer-ranged couplings in both systems.
By applying density functional theory, we find strong evidence for an itinerant nature of magnetism in two families of iron pnictides. Furthermore, by employing dynamical mean field theory with continuous time quantum Monte Carlo as an impurity solve
r, we observe that the antiferromagnetic metal with small magnetic moment naturally arises out of coupling between unfrustrated and frustrated bands. Our results point to a possible scenario for magnetism in iron pnictides where magnetism originates from a strong instability at the momentum vector ($pi$, $pi$, $pi$) while it is reduced by quantum fluctuations due to the coupling between weakly and strongly frustrated bands.
Within the framework of density functional theory we investigate the nature of magnetism in various families of Fe-based superconductors. (i) We show that magnetization of stripe-type antiferromagnetic order always becomes stronger when As is substit
uted by Sb in LaOFeAs, BaFe$_2$As$_2$ and LiFeAs. By calculating Pauli susceptibilities, we attribute the magnetization increase obtained after replacing As by Sb to the enhancement of an instability at $(pi,pi)$. This points to a strong connection between Fermi surface nesting and magnetism, which supports the theory of the itinerant nature of magnetism in various families of Fe-based superconductors. (ii) We find that within the family LaOFe$Pn$ ($Pn$=P, As, Sb, Bi) the absence of an antiferromagnetic phase in LaOFeP and its presence in LaOFeAs can be attributed to the competition of instabilities in the Pauli susceptibility at $(pi,pi)$ and $(0,0)$, which further strengthens the close relation between Fermi surface nesting and experimentally observed magnetization. (iii) Finally, based on our relaxed structures and Pauli susceptibility results, we predict that LaOFeSb upon doping or application of pressure should be a candidate for a superconductor with the highest transition temperature among the hypothetical compounds LaOFeSb, LaOFeBi, ScOFeP and ScOFeAs while the parent compounds LaOFeSb and LaOFeBi should show at ambient pressure a stripe-type antiferromagnetic metallic state.
The discovery of a new family of high Tc materials, the iron arsenides (FeAs), has led to a resurgence of interest in superconductivity. Several important traits of these materials are now apparent, for example, layers of iron tetrahedrally coordinat
ed by arsenic are crucial structural ingredients. It is also now well established that the parent non-superconducting phases are itinerant magnets, and that superconductivity can be induced by either chemical substitution or application of pressure, in sharp contrast to the cuprate family of materials. The structure and properties of chemically substituted samples are known to be intimately linked, however, remarkably little is known about this relationship when high pressure is used to induce superconductivity in undoped compounds. Here we show that the key structural features in BaFe2As2, namely suppression of the tetragonal to orthorhombic phase transition and reduction in the As-Fe-As bond angle and Fe-Fe distance, show the same behavior under pressure as found in chemically substituted samples. Using experimentally derived structural data, we show that the electronic structure evolves similarly in both cases. These results suggest that modification of the Fermi surface by structural distortions is more important than charge doping for inducing superconductivity in BaFe2As2.
