Francesco Mauri

Bio: Francesco Mauri is an academic researcher from Sapienza University of Rome. The author has contributed to research in topics: Graphene & Phonon. The author has an hindex of 85, co-authored 352 publications receiving 69332 citations. Previous affiliations of Francesco Mauri include University of Texas at Arlington & University of California, Berkeley.

Quantum Simulations Using Linear Scaling Methods: Clusters on Surfaces

Abstract: The basic features of orbital based linear scaling methods for electronic structure calculations and molecular dynamics simulations are discussed, and some applications of these approaches within a tight-binding formulation are briefly reviewed. In particular, two studies of clusters on surfaces are presented.

Weak Dimensionality Dependence of the Charge Density Wave Transition in NbSe$_2$

Abstract: Contradictory experiments have been reported about the dimensionality effect on the charge density wave transition in 2H NbSe$_2$. While scanning tunnelling experiments on single layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy measure a charge density wave transition temperature in the monolayer similar to the bulk, around 33 K, Raman experiments on exfoliated samples observe a large enhancement of the transition temperature up to 145 K. By calculating from first principles the charge density wave temperature, we determine that the intrinsic charge density wave is barely affected by dimensionality as suggested by the scanning tunnelling experiments. The transition temperature is estimated by calculating the temperature dependence of the phonon spectra within a non-perturbative approach to deal with anharmonicity and determining at which temperature the phonon energy of the mode driving the instability vanishes. The obtained transition temperature in the bulk is around 59 K, in rather good agreement with experiments, and it is just slightly increased in the single-layer limit to 73 K, showing the weak dependence of the transition on dimensionality. Our results demonstrate that the charge density wave melts due to the ionic contribution to the entropy, not the electronic one, and underline that environmental factors, such as sample preparation or the substrate, have a large impact on the transition temperatures.

Wigner Gaussian dynamics: Simulating the anharmonic and quantum ionic motion

Abstract: The atomic motion controls important features of materials, such as thermal transport, phase transitions, and vibrational spectra. However, the simulation of ionic dynamics is exceptionally challenging when quantum fluctuations are relevant (e.g., at low temperatures or with light atoms) and the energy landscape is anharmonic. In this work, we formulate the Time-Dependent Self-Consistent Harmonic Approximation (TDSCHA) in the Wigner framework, paving the way for the efficient computation of the nuclear motion in systems with sizable quantum and thermal anharmonic fluctuations. Besides the improved numerical efficiency, the Wigner formalism unveils the classical limit of TDSCHA and provides a link with the many-body perturbation theory of Feynman diagrams. We further extend the method to account for the non-linear couplings between phonons and photons, responsible, e.g., for a nonvanishing Raman signal in high-symmetry Raman inactive crystals, firstly discussed by Rasetti and Fermi. We benchmark the method in phase III of high-pressure hydrogen ab initio. The nonlinear photon-phonon coupling reshapes the IR spectra and explains the high-frequency shoulder of the H2 vibron observed in experiments. The Wigner TDSCHA is computationally cheap and derived from first principles: it is unbiased by assumptions on the phonon-phonon and phonon-photon scattering and does not depend on empirical parameters. Therefore, the method can be adopted in unsupervised high-throughput calculations.

Unusual Stoichiometry H4S3 Formed in Compressed H2S

Abstract: Hydrogen sulfides have recently received a great deal of interest due to the record high superconducting temperatures of up to 203 K observed on strong compression of dihydrogen sulfide (H2S). A joint theoretical and experimental study is presented in which decomposition products of compressed H2S are characterized, and their superconducting properties are calculated. In addition to the experimentally known H2S and H3S phases, our first-principles structure searches have identified several energetically competitive stoichiometries that have not been reported previously; H2S3, H3S2, and H4S3. In particular, H4S3 is predicted to be thermodynamically stable within a large pressure range of 25-113 GPa. High-pressure room-temperature X-ray diffraction measurements confirm the presence of an H4S3 phase that emerges at 27 GPa and coexists with H3S and residual H2S, at least up to the highest pressure studied in our experiments of 140 GPa. Electron-phonon coupling calculations show that H4S3 has a small Tc of below 2 K, and that H2S is mainly responsible for the observed superconductivity for samples prepared at low temperature.

Large impact of phonon lineshapes on the superconductivity of solid hydrogen

Abstract: Phonon anharmonicity plays a crucial role in determining the stability and vibrational properties of high-pressure hydrides. Furthermore, strong anharmonicity can render phonon quasiparticle picture obsolete. In this work, we show the effects of non-Lorentzian phonon lineshapes on the superconductivity of high-pressure solid hydrogen. We calculate the superconducting critical temperature T$_\mathrm{C}$ \emph{ab initio} considering the full anharmonic lineshape of the phonon spectral function and show that it substantially enhances T$_\mathrm{C}$. Despite previous anharmonic calculations estimating a weak anharmonicity in atomic hydrogen, considering the full spectral function enhances the critical temperature by 100 K, pushing it above 400 K. Our calculations also reveal that superconductivity emerges in hydrogen in the Cmca-12 molecular phase VI at pressures between 450 and 500 GPa.

The rise of graphene

Abstract: Graphene is a rapidly rising star on the horizon of materials science and condensed-matter physics. This strictly two-dimensional material exhibits exceptionally high crystal and electronic quality, and, despite its short history, has already revealed a cornucopia of new physics and potential applications, which are briefly discussed here. Whereas one can be certain of the realness of applications only when commercial products appear, graphene no longer requires any further proof of its importance in terms of fundamental physics. Owing to its unusual electronic spectrum, graphene has led to the emergence of a new paradigm of 'relativistic' condensed-matter physics, where quantum relativistic phenomena, some of which are unobservable in high-energy physics, can now be mimicked and tested in table-top experiments. More generally, graphene represents a conceptually new class of materials that are only one atom thick, and, on this basis, offers new inroads into low-dimensional physics that has never ceased to surprise and continues to provide a fertile ground for applications.

I and i

Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

Fast parallel algorithms for short-range molecular dynamics

Abstract: Three parallel algorithms for classical molecular dynamics are presented. The first assigns each processor a fixed subset of atoms; the second assigns each a fixed subset of inter-atomic forces to compute; the third assigns each a fixed spatial region. The algorithms are suitable for molecular dynamics models which can be difficult to parallelize efficiently—those with short-range forces where the neighbors of each atom change rapidly. They can be implemented on any distributed-memory parallel machine which allows for message-passing of data between independently executing processors. The algorithms are tested on a standard Lennard-Jones benchmark problem for system sizes ranging from 500 to 100,000,000 atoms on several parallel supercomputers--the nCUBE 2, Intel iPSC/860 and Paragon, and Cray T3D. Comparing the results to the fastest reported vectorized Cray Y-MP and C90 algorithm shows that the current generation of parallel machines is competitive with conventional vector supercomputers even for small problems. For large problems, the spatial algorithm achieves parallel efficiencies of 90% and a 1840-node Intel Paragon performs up to 165 faster than a single Cray C9O processor. Trade-offs between the three algorithms and guidelines for adapting them to more complex molecular dynamics simulations are also discussed.

The electronic properties of graphene

Abstract: This article reviews the basic theoretical aspects of graphene, a one-atom-thick allotrope of carbon, with unusual two-dimensional Dirac-like electronic excitations. The Dirac electrons can be controlled by application of external electric and magnetic fields, or by altering sample geometry and/or topology. The Dirac electrons behave in unusual ways in tunneling, confinement, and the integer quantum Hall effect. The electronic properties of graphene stacks are discussed and vary with stacking order and number of layers. Edge (surface) states in graphene depend on the edge termination (zigzag or armchair) and affect the physical properties of nanoribbons. Different types of disorder modify the Dirac equation leading to unusual spectroscopic and transport properties. The effects of electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions in single layer and multilayer graphene are also presented.