Xiu-Lu Zhang

Predicted alternative structure for tantalum metal under high pressure and high temperature

First-principles simulations have been performed to investigate the phase stability of tantalum (Ta) metal under high pressure and high temperature. We searched its low-energy structures globally using our developed multi-algorithm collaborative crystal structure prediction technique. The body-centered cubic (bcc) was found to be stable at pressure up to 300 GPa. The previously reported ω and A15 structures were also reproduced successfully. More interestingly, we observed another phase (space group: Pnma, 62) that is more stable than ω and A15. Its stability is confirmed by its phonon spectra and elastic constants. For ω-Ta, the calculated elastic constants and high-temperature phonon spectra both imply that it is neither mechanically nor dynamically stable. Thus, ω is not the structure to which bcc-Ta transits before melting. On the contrary, the good agreement of Pnma-Ta shear sound velocities with experiment suggests Pnma is the new structure of Ta implied by the discontinuation of shear sound velocit...

Transport properties of two-dimensional electrons through multiple magnetic barriers

Transport properties of 2-dimensional electron system in a varying magnetic flied are investigated theoretically by a transfer matrix technique. The exact magnetic field profiles and the corresponding vector potentials are presented instead of simulated ones. The results show that several transmission domains are formed and each domain contains (N−1)-fold resonance splitting which fully depends on the number of magnetic barriers N. The computed conductance also exhibits rich transfer properties. Three peaks are observed in the low energy range. With the increasing of N, the conductance curves tend to coincide with each other as the tilting angle of magnetization relative to z direction equals to π/2, while the conductance curves shift downwards for other θ. All of our calculations reveal the important features of electron tunneling through multiple magnetic barriers.

Direct anharmonic correction method by molecular dynamics

Abstract The quick calculation of accurate anharmonic effects of lattice vibrations is crucial to the calculations of thermodynamic properties, the construction of the multi-phase diagram and equation of states of materials, and the theoretical designs of new materials. In this paper, we proposed a direct free energy interpolation (DFEI) method based on the temperature dependent phonon density of states (TD-PDOS) reduced from molecular dynamics simulations. Using the DFEI method, after anharmonic free energy corrections we reproduced the thermal expansion coefficients, the specific heat, the thermal pressure, the isothermal bulk modulus, and the Hugoniot P – V – T relationships of Cu easily and accurately. The extensive tests on other materials including metal, alloy, semiconductor and insulator also manifest that the DFEI method can easily uncover the rest anharmonicity that the quasi-harmonic approximation (QHA) omits. It is thus evidenced that the DFEI method is indeed a very efficient method used to conduct anharmonic effect corrections beyond QHA. More importantly it is much more straightforward and easier compared to previous anharmonic methods.

Comparative Study on Two Melting Simulation Methods: Melting Curve of Gold

Melting simulation methods are of crucial importance to determining melting temperature of materials efficiently. A high-efficiency melting simulation method saves much simulation time and computational resources. To compare the efficiency of our newly developed shock melting (SM) method with that of the well-established two-phase (TP) method, we calculate the high-pressure melting curve of Au using the two methods based on the optimally selected interatomic potentials. Although we only use 640 atoms to determine the melting temperature of Au in the SM method, the resulting melting curve accords very well with the results from the TP method using much more atoms. Thus, this shows that a much smaller system size in SM method can still achieve a fully converged melting curve compared with the TP method, implying the robustness and efficiency of the SM method.

Shock melting method to determine melting curve by molecular dynamics: Cu, Pd, and Al

A melting simulation method, the shock melting (SM) method, is proposed and proved to be able to determine the melting curves of materials accurately and efficiently. The SM method, which is based on the multi-scale shock technique, determines melting curves by preheating and/or prepressurizing materials before shock. This strategy was extensively verified using both classical and ab initio molecular dynamics (MD). First, the SM method yielded the same satisfactory melting curve of Cu with only 360 atoms using classical MD, compared to the results from the Z-method and the two-phase coexistence method. Then, it also produced a satisfactory melting curve of Pd with only 756 atoms. Finally, the SM method combined with ab initio MD cheaply achieved a good melting curve of Al with only 180 atoms, which agrees well with the experimental data and the calculated results from other methods. It turned out that the SM method is an alternative efficient method for calculating the melting curves of materials.

Solid phase stability of molybdenum under compression: Sound velocity measurements and first-principles calculations

The high-pressure solid phase stability of molybdenum (Mo) has been the center of a long-standing controversy on its high-pressure melting. In this work, experimental and theoretical researches have been conducted to check its solid phase stability under compression. First, we performed sound velocity measurements from 38 to 160 GPa using the two-stage light gas gun and explosive loading in backward- and forward-impact geometries, along with the high-precision velocity interferometry. From the sound velocities, we found no solid-solid phase transition in Mo before shock melting, which does not support the previous solid-solid phase transition conclusion inferred from the sharp drops of the longitudinal sound velocity [Hixson et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 62, 637 (1989)]. Then, we searched its structures globally using the multi-algorithm collaborative crystal structure prediction technique combined with the density functional theory. By comparing the enthalpies of body centered cubic structure with those of the metastable structures, we found that bcc is the most stable structure in the range of 0–300 GPa. The present theoretical results together with previous ones greatly support our experimental conclusions.

Anharmonic Properties of Aluminum from Direct Free Energy Interpolation Method

We compare the direct free energy interpolation (DFEI) method and the quasi-harmonic approximation (QHA) in calculating of the equation of states and thermodynamic properties of prototype Al. The Gibbs free energy of Al is calculated using the DFEI method based on the high-temperature phonon density of states reduced from classical molecular dynamics simulations. Then, we reproduce the thermal expansion coefficients, the specific heat, the isothermal bulk modulus of Al accurately. By comparing the results from the DFEI method and the QHA, we find that the DFEI method is indeed more accurate in calculating anharmonic properties than the QHA.