Kristjan Haule

Electronic structure calculations with dynamical mean-field theory

We present a review of the basic ideas and techniques of the spectral density functional theory which are currently used in electronic structure calculations of strongly{correlated materials where the one{electron description breaks down. We illustrate the method with several examples where interactions play a dominant role: systems near metal{insulator transition, systems near volume collapse transition, and systems with local moments.

Correlated Electronic Structure of LaO1 xFxFeAs

We compute the electronic structure, momentum resolved spectral function and optical conductivity of the new superconductor LaO1-xFxFeAs within the combination of the density functional theory and dynamical mean field theory. We find that the compound in the normal state is a strongly correlated metal and the parent compound is a bad metal at the verge of the metal insulator transition. We argue that the superconductivity is not phonon mediated.

Kinetic frustration and the nature of the magnetic and paramagnetic states in iron pnictides and iron chalcogenides

The iron pnictide and chalcogenide compounds are a subject of intensive investigations owing to their surprisingly high temperature superconductivity. They all share the same basic building blocks, but there is significant variation in their physical properties, such as magnetic ordered moments, effective masses, superconducting gaps and transition temperature (T(c)). Many theoretical techniques have been applied to individual compounds but no consistent description of the microscopic origin of these variations is available. Here we carry out a comparative theoretical study of a large number of iron-based compounds in both their magnetic and paramagnetic states. Taking into account correlation effects and realistic band structures, we describe well the trends in all of the physical properties such as the ordered moments, effective masses and Fermi surfaces across all families of iron compounds, and find them to be in good agreement with experiments. We trace variation in physical properties to variations in the key structural parameters, rather than changes in the screening of the Coulomb interactions. Our results also provide a natural explanation of the strongly Fermi-surface-dependent superconducting gaps observed in experiments.

Correlated electronic structure of LaOFeAs

We compute the electronic structure, momentum resolved spectral function and optical conductivity of the new superconductor LaO1-xFxFeAs within the combination of the density functional theory and dynamical mean field theory. We find that the compound in the normal state is a strongly correlated metal and the parent compound is a bad metal at the verge of the metal insulator transition. We argue that the superconductivity is not phonon mediated.

Fluctuating valence in a correlated solid and the anomalous properties of δ-plutonium

Plutonium displays phase transitions with enormous volume differences among its phases and both its Pauli like magnetic susceptibility and resistivity are an order of magnitude larger than those of simple metals. Curium is also highly resistive but its susceptibility is Curie-like at high temperatures and orders antiferromagnetically at low temperatures. The anomalous properties of the late actinides stem from the competition between the itinerancy and localization of its f electrons, which makes the late actinides elemental strongly correlated materials. A central problem in this field is to understand the mechanism by which these materials resolve these conflicting tendencies. In this letter we identify the electronic mechanisms responsible for the anomalous behaviour of late actinides. We revisit the concept of valence using theoretical approach that treats magnetism, Kondo screening, atomic multiplet effects, spin orbit coupling and crystal field splitting on the same footing. Plutonium is found to be in a rare mixed valent state, namely its ground state is a superposition of two distinct valencies. Curium settles in a single valence magnetically ordered state at low temperatures. The f7 atomic configuration of Curium is contrasted with the multiple configuration manifolds present in Plutonium ground state which we characterize by a valence histogram. The balance between the Kondo screening and magnetism is determined by the competition between spin orbit coupling and the strength of atomic multiplets which is in turn regulated by the degree of itinerancy. The approach presented here, highlights the electronic origin of the bonding anomalies in plutonium and can be applied to predict generalized valences and the presence or absence of magnetism in other compounds starting from first principles.Although the nuclear properties of the late actinides (plutonium, americium and curium) are fully understood and widely applied to energy generation, their solid-state properties do not fit within standard models and are the subject of active research. Plutonium displays phases with enormous volume differences, and both its Pauli-like magnetic susceptibility and resistivity are an order of magnitude larger than those of simple metals. Curium is also highly resistive, but its susceptibility is Curie-like at high temperatures and orders antiferromagnetically at low temperatures. The anomalous properties of the late actinides stem from the competition between itinerancy and localization of their f-shell electrons, which makes these elements strongly correlated materials. A central problem in this field is to understand the mechanism by which these conflicting tendencies are resolved in such materials. Here we identify the electronic mechanisms responsible for the anomalous behaviour of late actinides, revisiting the concept of valence using a theoretical approach that treats magnetism, Kondo screening, atomic multiplet effects and crystal field splitting on the same footing. We find that the ground state in plutonium is a quantum superposition of two distinct atomic valences, whereas curium settles into a magnetically ordered single valence state at low temperatures. The f7 configuration of curium is contrasted with the multiple valences of the plutonium ground state, which we characterize by a valence histogram. The balance between the Kondo screening and magnetism is controlled by the competition between spin–orbit coupling, the strength of atomic multiplets and the degree of itinerancy. Our approach highlights the electronic origin of the bonding anomalies in plutonium, and can be applied to predict generalized valences and the presence or absence of magnetism in other compounds starting from first principles.

Quantum Monte Carlo impurity solver for cluster dynamical mean-field theory and electronic structure calculations with adjustable cluster base

We generalized the recently introduced impurity solver P. Werner et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 076405 2006 based on the diagrammatic expansion around the atomic limit and quantum Monte Carlo summation of the diagrams. We present generalization to the cluster of impurities, which is at the heart of the cluster dynamical mean-field methods, and to realistic multiplet structure of a correlated atom, which will allow a high-precision study of actinide and lanthanide based compounds with the combination of the dynamical mean-field theory and band-structure methods. The approach is applied to both the two-dimensional Hubbard and t-J models within cellular dynamical mean-field method. The efficient implementation of the algorithm, which we describe in detail, allows us to study coherence of the system at low temperature from the underdoped to overdoped regime. We show that the point of maximal superconducting transition temperature coincides with the point of maximum scattering rate, although this optimal doped point appears at different electron densities in the two models. The power of the method is further demonstrated in the example of the Kondo volume collapse transition in cerium. The valence histogram of the dynamical mean-field theory solution is presented, showing the importance of the multiplet splitting of the atomic states.

Magnetism and charge dynamics in iron pnictides

For the iron pnictide superconductors, a first-principles calculation of the magnetic state shows that correlations are important if we are to understand both the paramagnetic and magnetic phases. Moreover, the pnictides are fundamentally different from the cuprate superconductors in terms of spin and orbital physics.

Arrested Kondo effect and hidden order in URu2Si2

The so-called hidden-order state in URu2Si2 is further obscured by conflicting experimental observations. A first-principles calculation shows that an order parameter with real and imaginary parts can explain many of these conflicts.

Dynamical mean-field theory within the full-potential methods: Electronic structure of CeIrIn5, CeCOIn5, and CeRhIn5

We implemented the charge self-consistent combination of density-functional theory and dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) in two full-potential methods, the augmented plane-wave and the linear muffin-tin orbital methods. We categorize the commonly used projection methods in terms of the causality of the resulting DMFT equations and the amount of partial spectral weight retained. The detailed flow of the dynamical mean-field algorithm is described, including the computation of response functions such as transport coefficients. We discuss the implementation of the impurity solvers based on hybridization expansion and an analytic continuation method for self-energy. We also derive the formalism for the bold continuous time quantum Monte Carlo method. We test our method on a classic problem in strongly correlated physics, the isostructural transition in Ce metal. We apply our method to the class of heavy-fermion materials

Experimental and theoretical evidence for pressure-induced metallization in FeO with rocksalt-type structure.

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