Iurii Timrov

Advanced capabilities for materials modelling with Quantum ESPRESSO

Quantum ESPRESSO is an integrated suite of open-source computer codes for quantum simulations of materials using state-of-the art electronic-structure techniques, based on density-functional theory, density-functional perturbation theory, and many-body perturbation theory, within the plane-wave pseudo-potential and projector-augmented-wave approaches. Quantum ESPRESSO owes its popularity to the wide variety of properties and processes it allows to simulate, to its performance on an increasingly broad array of hardware architectures, and to a community of researchers that rely on its capabilities as a core open-source development platform to implement theirs ideas. In this paper we describe recent extensions and improvements, covering new methodologies and property calculators, improved parallelization, code modularization, and extended interoperability both within the distribution and with external software.Quantum EXPRESSO is an integrated suite of open-source computer codes for quantum simulations of materials using state-of-the-art electronic-structure techniques, based on density-functional theory, density-functional perturbation theory, and many-body perturbation theory, within the plane-wave pseudopotential and projector-augmented-wave approaches. Quantum EXPRESSO owes its popularity to the wide variety of properties and processes it allows to simulate, to its performance on an increasingly broad array of hardware architectures, and to a community of researchers that rely on its capabilities as a core open-source development platform to implement their ideas. In this paper we describe recent extensions and improvements, covering new methodologies and property calculators, improved parallelization, code modularization, and extended interoperability both within the distribution and with external software.

Coherent phonon coupling to individual Bloch states in photoexcited bismuth.

We investigate the temporal evolution of the electronic states at the bismuth (111) surface by means of time- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. The binding energy of bulklike bands oscillates with the frequency of the A(1g) phonon mode, whereas surface states are insensitive to the coherent displacement of the lattice. A strong dependence of the oscillation amplitude on the electronic wave vector is correctly reproduced by ab initio calculations of electron-phonon coupling. Besides these oscillations, all the electronic states also display a photoinduced shift towards higher binding energy whose dynamics follows the evolution of the electronic temperature.

Accurate and inexpensive prediction of the color optical properties of anthocyanins in solution.

The simulation of the color optical properties of molecular dyes in liquid solution requires the calculation of time evolution of the solute absorption spectra fluctuating in the solvent at finite temperature. Time-averaged spectra can be directly evaluated by combining ab initio Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics and time-dependent density functional theory calculations. The inclusion of hybrid exchange-correlation functionals, necessary for the prediction of the correct transition frequencies, prevents one from using these techniques for the simulation of the optical properties of large realistic systems. Here we present an alternative approach for the prediction of the color of natural dyes in solution with a low computational cost. We applied this approach to representative anthocyanin dyes: the excellent agreement between the simulated and the experimental colors makes this method a straightforward and inexpensive tool for the high-throughput prediction of colors of molecules in liquid solvents.

Self-consistent continuum solvation for optical absorption of complex molecular systems in solution

We introduce a new method to compute the optical absorption spectra of complex molecular systems in solution, based on the Liouville approach to time-dependent density-functional perturbation theory and the revised self-consistent continuum solvation model. The former allows one to obtain the absorption spectrum over a whole wide frequency range, using a recently proposed Lanczos-based technique, or selected excitation energies, using the Casida equation, without having to ever compute any unoccupied molecular orbitals. The latter is conceptually similar to the polarizable continuum model and offers the further advantages of allowing an easy computation of atomic forces via the Hellmann-Feynman theorem and a ready implementation in periodic-boundary conditions. The new method has been implemented using pseudopotentials and plane-wave basis sets, benchmarked against polarizable continuum model calculations on 4-aminophthalimide, alizarin, and cyanin and made available through the Quantum ESPRESSO distribution of open-source codes.

turboEELS—A code for the simulation of the electron energy loss and inelastic X-ray scattering spectra using the Liouville–Lanczos approach to time-dependent density-functional perturbation theory☆

Abstract We introduce turboEELS , an implementation of the Liouville–Lanczos approach to linearized time-dependent density-functional theory, designed to simulate electron energy loss and inelastic X-ray scattering spectra in periodic solids. turboEELS is open-source software distributed under the terms of the GPL as a component of Quantum ESPRESSO . As with other components, turboEELS is optimized to run on a variety of different platforms, from laptops to massively parallel architectures, using native mathematical libraries (LAPACK and FFTW) and a hierarchy of custom parallelization layers built on top of MPI. Program summary Program title: turboEELS Catalogue identifier: AEXB_v1_0 Program summary URL: http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEXB_v1_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen’s University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: GNU General Public License V 2.0 No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 1371515 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 37355712 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: Fortran 95. Computer: Any computer architecture. Operating system: GNU/Linux, AIX, IRIX, Mac OS X, and other UNIX-like OS’s. Classification: 7.2. External routines: turboEELS is a tightly integrated component of the Quantum ESPRESSO distribution and requires the standard libraries linked by it: BLAS, LAPACK, FFTW, MPI. Nature of problem: Calculation of the electron energy loss and inelastic X-ray scattering spectra of periodic solids. Solution method: The charge-density susceptibility of a periodic system is expressed in terms of the resolvent of its Liouvillian superoperator within time-dependent density functional perturbation theory. It is calculated using non-Hermitian or pseudo-Hermitian variants of the Lanczos recursion scheme, whose implementation does not require the calculation of any virtual states. Pseudopotentials (both norm-conserving and ultrasoft) are used in conjunction with plane-wave basis sets and periodic boundary conditions. Relativistic effects (spin–orbit coupling) can be included in calculations. Restrictions: Linear-response regime. Adiabatic exchange–correlation kernels only. No hybrid functionals. Collinear spin-polarized formalism is not supported, only non-collinear spin-polarized case can be used. Spin–orbit coupling cannot be used with ultrasoft pseudopotentials. No magnetism. No Hubbard U formalism. No PAW pseudopotentials. Unusual features: No virtual orbitals are used, nor even calculated. A single Lanczos recursion gives access to the whole spectrum at fixed transferred momentum. Additional comments: The distribution file of this program can be downloaded from the Quantum ESPRESSO website: http://www.quantum-espresso.org/ , and the development version of this program can be downloaded via SVN from the QE-forge website: http://qe-forge.org/gf/project/q-e/ . !!!!! The distribution file for this program is over 37 Mbytes and therefore is not delivered directly when download or Email is requested. Instead a html file giving details of how the program can be obtained is sent. !!!!! Running time: From a few minutes for elemental bulk systems with a few atoms in the primitive unit cell on serial machines up to many hours on multiple processors for complex systems (e.g., surfaces with high Miller indices) with dozens or hundreds of atoms.

Multimodel Approach to the Optical Properties of Molecular Dyes in Solution

We introduce a multimodel approach to the simulation of the optical properties of molecular dyes in solution, whereby the effects of thermal fluctuations and of dielectric screening on the absorption spectra are accounted for by explicit and implicit solvation models, respectively. Thermal effects are treated by averaging the spectra of molecular configurations generated by an ab initio molecular-dynamics simulation where solvent molecules are treated explicitly. Dielectric effects are then dealt with implicitly by computing the spectra upon removal of the solvent molecules and their replacement with an effective medium, in the spirit of a continuum solvation model. Our multimodel approach is validated by comparing its predictions with those of a fully explicit-solvation simulation for cyanidin-3-glucoside (cyanin) chromophore in water. While multimodel and fully explicit-solvent spectra may differ considerably for individual configurations along the trajectory, their time averages are remarkably similar, thus providing a solid benchmark of the former and allowing us to save considerably on the computer resources needed to predict accurate absorption spectra. The power of the proposed methodology is finally demonstrated by the excellent agreement between its predictions and the absorption spectra of cyanin measured at strong and intermediate acidity conditions.

Electron energy loss and inelastic x-ray scattering cross sections from time-dependent density-functional perturbation theory

The Liouville-Lanczos approach to linear-response time-dependent density-functional theory is generalized so as to encompass electron energy loss and inelastic x-ray scattering spectroscopies in periodic solids. The computation of virtual orbitals and the manipulation of large matrices are avoided by adopting a representation of response orbitals borrowed from (time-independent) density functional perturbation theory and a suitable Lanczos recursion scheme. The latter allows the bulk of the numerical work to be performed at any given transferred momentum only once, for a whole extended frequency range. The numerical complexity of the method is thus greatly reduced, making the computation of the loss function over a wide frequency range at any given transferred momentum only slightly more expensive than a single standard ground-state calculation and opening the way to computations for systems of unprecedented size and complexity. Our method is validated on the paradigmatic examples of bulk silicon and aluminum, for which both experimental and theoretical results already exist in the literature.

Hubbard parameters from density-functional perturbation theory

We present a transparent and computationally efficient approach for the first-principles calculation of Hubbard parameters from linear-response theory. This approach is based on density-functional perturbation theory and the use of monochromatic perturbations. In addition to delivering much improved efficiency, the present approach makes it straightforward to calculate automatically these Hubbard parameters for any given system, with tight numerical control on convergence and precision. The effectiveness of the method is showcased in three case studies---

Spin dynamics from time-dependent density functional perturbation theory

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Direct observation of electron thermalization and electron-phonon coupling in photoexcited bismuth

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