Relationship between the Coulomb integral U and the Stoner parameter I

Advances in actinide thin films: synthesis, properties, and future directions

Actinide-based compounds exhibit unique physics due to the presence of 5f electrons, and serve in many cases as important technological materials. Targeted thin film synthesis of actinide materials has been successful in generating high-purity specimens in which to study individual physical phenomena. These films have enabled the study of the unique electron configuration, strong mass renormalization, and nuclear decay in actinide metals and compounds. The growth of these films, as well as their thermophysical, magnetic, and topological properties, have been studied in a range of chemistries, albeit far fewer than most classes of thin film systems. This relative scarcity is the result of limited source material availability and safety constraints associated with the handling of radioactive materials. Here, we review recent work on the synthesis and characterization of actinide-based thin films in detail, describing both synthesis methods and modeling techniques for these materials. We review reports on pyrometallurgical, solution-based, and vapor deposition methods. We highlight the current state-of-the-art in order to construct a path forward to higher quality actinide thin films and heterostructure devices.

Flatbands and Emergent Ferromagnetic Ordering in Fe_{3}Sn_{2} Kagome Lattices

A flatband representing a highly degenerate and dispersionless manifold state of electrons may offer unique opportunities for the emergence of exotic quantum phases. To date, definitive experimental demonstrations of flatbands remain to be accomplished in realistic materials. Here, we present the first experimental observation of a striking flatband near the Fermi level in the layered Fe_{3}Sn_{2} crystal consisting of two Fe kagome lattices separated by a Sn spacing layer. The band flatness is attributed to the local destructive interferences of Bloch wave functions within the kagome lattices, as confirmed through theoretical calculations and modelings. We also establish high-temperature ferromagnetic ordering in the system and interpret the observed collective phenomenon as a consequence of the synergetic effect of electron correlation and the peculiar lattice geometry. Specifically, local spin moments formed by intramolecular exchange interaction are ferromagnetically coupled through a unique network of the hexagonal units in the kagome lattice. Our findings have important implications to exploit emergent flat-band physics in special lattice geometries.

Band alignment and optical absorption in Ga(Sb)N alloys

We extend the theory of band alignment proposed by Harrison to ternary and quaternary heteropolar semiconductors. Combining this with first-principles density functional theory incorporating the LDA/GGA+U formalism (LDA: local density approximation; GGA: generalized gradient approximation) can result in useful electronic structure predictions for new alloys. The practicality of this is demonstrated by application to the Ga(Sbx)N1-x alloys, where the feasibility of water splitting reaction under visible light irradiation is discussed.

Density functional perturbational orbital theory of spin polarization in electronic systems. I. Formalism

A perturbational approach is presented for the general analysis of spin-polarization effect on electronic structures and energies within spin-density functional formalism. Explicit expressions for the changes in Kohn-Sham [Phys. Rev. 140, 1133 (1965)] orbital energies and coefficients as well as for the change in total electronic energy are derived upon using the local spin density and self-interaction-corrected exchange-correlation functionals. The application of the method for atoms provides analytical expressions for the exchange splitting energy and spin-polarization energy. The atomic exchange parameters are obtained from the expressions for the elements with Z=1-92 and they match well with Stoner exchange parameters for 3d metal elements.

Orbital polarization in itinerant magnets

We propose a parameter-free scheme of calculation of the orbital polarization (OP) in metals, which starts with the strong-coupling limit for the screened Coulomb interactions in the random-phase approximation (RPA). For itinerant magnets, RPA can be further improved by restoring the spin polarization of the local-spin-density approximation through the local-field corrections. The OP is then computed as the self-energy correction in the static GW method, which systematically improves the orbital magnetization and the magnetic anisotropy energies in transition-metal and actinide compounds.

Geometric frustration, electronic instabilities, and charge singlets in Y2Nb2O7

Pyrochlore Y2Nb2O7 is studied with density functional calculations. In the ideal pyrochlore structure, no magnetism is found, consistent with experiments, but the band structure is metallic. The phonon dispersions show unstable modes corresponding to charge instabilities. These frustrated instabilities lead to a metal-insulator transition with the formation of "charge singlets". Partial substitution of Ti for Nb results in moment formation due to the occurrence of Ti3+.