QUANTUM ESPRESSO is an integrated suite of computer codes for electronic-structure calculations and materials modeling, based on density-functional theory, plane waves, and pseudopotentials (norm-conserving, ultrasoft, and projector-augmented wave). The acronym ESPRESSO stands for opEn Source Package for Research in Electronic Structure, Simulation, and Optimization. It is freely available to researchers around the world under the terms of the GNU General Public License. QUANTUM ESPRESSO builds upon newly-restructured electronic-structure codes that have been developed and tested by some of the original authors of novel electronic-structure algorithms and applied in the last twenty years by some of the leading materials modeling groups worldwide. Innovation and efficiency are still its main focus, with special attention paid to massively parallel architectures, and a great effort being devoted to user friendliness. QUANTUM ESPRESSO is evolving towards a distribution of independent and interoperable codes in the spirit of an open-source project, where researchers active in the field of electronic-structure calculations are encouraged to participate in the project by contributing their own codes or by implementing their own ideas into existing codes.

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QUANTUM ESPRESSO: a modular and open-source software project for quantum simulations of materials

Topological insulators are new states of quantum matter which cannot be adiabatically connected to conventional insulators and semiconductors. They are characterized by a full insulating gap in the bulk and gapless edge or surface states which are protected by time-reversal symmetry. These topological materials have been theoretically predicted and experimentally observed in a variety of systems, including HgTe quantum wells, BiSb alloys, and Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3 crystals. Theoretical models, materials properties, and experimental results on two-dimensional and three-dimensional topological insulators are reviewed, and both the topological band theory and the topological field theory are discussed. Topological superconductors have a full pairing gap in the bulk and gapless surface states consisting of Majorana fermions. The theory of topological superconductors is reviewed, in close analogy to the theory of topological insulators.

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Topological insulators and superconductors

The semiconductor ZnO has gained substantial interest in the research community in part because of its large exciton binding energy (60meV) which could lead to lasing action based on exciton recombination even above room temperature. Even though research focusing on ZnO goes back many decades, the renewed interest is fueled by availability of high-quality substrates and reports of p-type conduction and ferromagnetic behavior when doped with transitions metals, both of which remain controversial. It is this renewed interest in ZnO which forms the basis of this review. As mentioned already, ZnO is not new to the semiconductor field, with studies of its lattice parameter dating back to 1935 by Bunn [Proc. Phys. Soc. London 47, 836 (1935)], studies of its vibrational properties with Raman scattering in 1966 by Damen et al. [Phys. Rev. 142, 570 (1966)], detailed optical studies in 1954 by Mollwo [Z. Angew. Phys. 6, 257 (1954)], and its growth by chemical-vapor transport in 1970 by Galli and Coker [Appl. Phys. ...

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A comprehensive review of zno materials and devices

We have developed and implemented a selfconsistent density functional method using standard norm-conserving pseudopotentials and a flexible, numerical linear combination of atomic orbitals basis set, which includes multiple-zeta and polarization orbitals. Exchange and correlation are treated with the local spin density or generalized gradient approximations. The basis functions and the electron density are projected on a real-space grid, in order to calculate the Hartree and exchange-correlation potentials and matrix elements, with a number of operations that scales linearly with the size of the system. We use a modified energy functional, whose minimization produces orthogonal wavefunctions and the same energy and density as the Kohn-Sham energy functional, without the need for an explicit orthogonalization. Additionally, using localized Wannier-like electron wavefunctions allows the computation time and memory required to minimize the energy to also scale linearly with the size of the system. Forces and stresses are also calculated efficiently and accurately, thus allowing structural relaxation and molecular dynamics simulations.

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The SIESTA method for ab initio order-N materials simulation

This article reviews the current status of lattice-dynamical calculations in crystals, using density-functional perturbation theory, with emphasis on the plane-wave pseudopotential method. Several specialized topics are treated, including the implementation for metals, the calculation of the response to macroscopic electric fields and their relevance to long-wavelength vibrations in polar materials, the response to strain deformations, and higher-order responses. The success of this methodology is demonstrated with a number of applications existing in the literature.

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Phonons and related crystal properties from density-functional perturbation theory

The macroscopic electric polarization of a crystal is often defined as the dipole of a unit cell. In fact, such a dipole moment is ill defined, and the above definition is incorrect. Looking more closely, the quantity generally measured is differential polarization, defined with respect to a "reference state" of the same material. Such differential polarizations include either derivatives of the polarization (dielectric permittivity, Born effective charges, piezoelectricity, pyroelectricity) or finite differences (ferroelectricity). On the theoretical side, the differential concept is basic as well. Owing to continuity, a polarization difference is equivalent to a macroscopic current, which is directly accessible to the theory as a bulk property. Polarization is a quantum phenomenon and cannot be treated with a classical model, particularly whenever delocalized valence electrons are present in the dielectric. In a quantum picture, the current is basically a property of the phase of the wave functions, as opposed to the charge, which is a property of their modulus. An elegant and complete theory has recently been developed by King-Smith and Vanderbilt, in which the polarization difference between any two crystal states---in a null electric field---takes the form of a geometric quantum phase. The author gives a comprehensive account of this theory, which is relevant for dealing with transverse-optic phonons, piezoelectricity, and ferroelectricity. Its relation to the established concepts of linear-response theory is also discussed. Within the geometric phase approach, the relevant polarization difference occurs as the circuit integral of a Berry connection (or "vector potential"), while the corresponding curvature (or "magnetic field") provides the macroscopic linear response.

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Macroscopic polarization in crystalline dielectrics : the geometric phase approach

The position operator (defined within the Schr\"odinger representation in the standard way) becomes meaningless when periodic boundary conditions are adopted for the wave function, as usual in condensed matter physics. I show how to define the position expectation value by means of a simple many-body operator acting on the wave function of the extended system. The relationships of the present findings to the Berry-phase theory of polarization are discussed.

Quantum-Mechanical Position Operator in Extended Systems

A new model for band offsets in lattice-matched heterojunctions is presented along with a novel definition of the interface dipole which avoids any reference to an ideal interface. The model is derived only from the charge densities of the bulk constituents and naturally predicts the independence of the offsets on interface geometry. It is in excellent agreement with accurate first-principles pseudopotential calculations for ${(\mathrm{GaAs})}_{3}$/${(\mathrm{AlAs})}_{3}$ grown in the (001), (110), and (111) directions and with available experimental data.

Band offsets in lattice-matched heterojunctions: A model and first-principles calculations for GaAs/AlAs.

We perform a first-principles calculation of the static dielectric constant of Si in the framework of density-functional theory. The only essential approximation used in this work is the local-density approximation (LDA): norm-conserving pseudopotentials and large plane-wave basis sets are used, numerical roundoff and convergence errors are kept below 1%. The present calculation gives for the first time the ``exact'' value of the macroscopic dielectric constant at the LDA level. The theoretical value of ${\ensuremath{\epsilon}}_{\ensuremath{\infty}}$ is 12% higher than experiment.

Ab initio calculation of the macroscopic dielectric constant in silicon.

Contrary to common textbook statements, the macroscopic electric polarization of a crystal cannot be unambiguously defined as the dipole of a unit cell. The only measurable quantities are either derivatives of the polarization (dielectric susceptibility, Born effective charges, piezoelectricity, pyroelectricity) or finite differences (ferroelectricity). The differential concept is a basic one in theoretical work too. I sketch here the basic theory and the state of the art in its implementation to real materials, both for induced and spontaneous polarization; for the latter case, I also propose a novel approach.

Raffaele Resta

Papers

Macroscopic polarization in crystalline dielectrics : the geometric phase approach

Quantum-Mechanical Position Operator in Extended Systems

Band offsets in lattice-matched heterojunctions: A model and first-principles calculations for GaAs/AlAs.

Ab initio calculation of the macroscopic dielectric constant in silicon.

Theory of the electric polarization in crystals