The study of the electronic structure of materials is at a momentous stage, with new algorithms and computational methods and rapid advances in basic theory. Many properties of materials can now be determined directly from the fundamental equations for the electrons, providing new insights into critical problems in physics, chemistry, and materials science. This book provides a unified exposition of the basic theory and methods of electronic structure, together with instructive examples of practical computational methods and real-world applications. Appropriate for both graduate students and practising scientists, this book describes the approach most widely used today, density functional theory, with emphasis upon understanding the ideas, practical methods and limitations. Many references are provided to original papers, pertinent reviews, and widely available books. Included in each chapter is a short list of the most relevant references and a set of exercises that reveal salient points and challenge the reader.
• An associated web site features additional resources for students • Presents a unified exposition of the basic theory and methods of electronic structure, showing similarities and differences, advantages and disadvantages • Contains extensive exercises to challenge the reader and aid in self-study
Contents
Preface; Acknowledgements; Notation; Part I. Overview and Background Topics: 1. Introduction; 2. Overview; 3. Theoretical background; 4. Periodic solids and electron bands; 5. Uniform electron gas and simple metals; Part II. Density Functional Theory: 6. Density functional theory: foundations; 7. The Kohn–Sham ansatz; 8. Functionals for exchange and correlation; 9. Solving the Kohn–Sham equations; Part III. Important Preliminaries on Atoms: 10. Electronic structure of atoms; 11. Pseudopotentials; Part IV. Determination of Electronic Structure, The Three Basic Methods: 12. Plane waves and grids: basics; 13. Plane waves and grids: full calculations; 14. Localized orbitals: tight binding; 15. Localized orbitals: full calculations; 16. Augmented functions: APW, KKR, MTO; 17. Augmented functions: linear methods; Part V. Predicting Properties of Matter from Electronic Structure – Recent Developments: 18. Quantum molecular dynamics (QMD); 19. Response functions: photons, magnons …; 20. Excitation spectra and optical properties; 21. Wannier functions; 22. Polarization, localization and Berry's phases; 23. Locality and linear scaling O (N) methods; 24. Where to find more; Appendixes; References; Index.
Review
'The book places electronic structure in the context of elementary issues in physics, while at the same time emphasising its role in providing useful information on the properties of materials … unified exposition of the basic theory and methods of electronic structure, together with instructive examples of practical computational methods and actual applications … aim is to serve graduate students and scientists involved in research while acting as supplementary material for courses on condensed matter physics and material science … Examples of problems are included in each chapter to bring out salient points and challenge the reader.' Materials World
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