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A fully self-consistent density-functional theory (DFT) with improved functionals is used to provide a comprehensive account of structural, electronic, and optical properties of C$_{3}$N$_{4}$ polymorphs. Using our recently developed van Leeuwen-Baerends (vLB) corrected local-density approximation (LDA), we implemented LDA+vLB within full-potential N$^{th}$-order muffin-tin orbital (FP-NMTO) method and show that it improves structural properties and band gaps compared to semi-local functionals (LDA/GGA). We demonstrate that the LDA+vLB predicts band-structure and work-function for well-studied 2D-graphene and bulk-Si in very good agreement with experiments, and more exact hybrid functional (HSE) calculations as implemented in the Quantum-Espresso (QE) package. The structural and electronic-structure (band gap) properties of C$_{3}$N$_{4}$ polymorphs calculated using FP-NMTO-LDA+vLB is compared with more sophisticated hybrid-functional calculations. We also perform detailed investigation of photocatalytic behavior using QE-HSE method of C$_{3}$N$_{4}$ polymorphs through work-function, band (valence and conduction) position with respect to water reduction and oxidation potential. Our results show $\gamma$-C$_{3}$N$_{4}$ as the best candidate for photocatalysis among all the C$_{3}$N$_{4}$~polymorphs but it is dynamically unstable at `zero' pressure. We show that $\gamma$-C$_{3}$N$_{4}$ can be stabilized under hydrostatic-pressure, which improves its photocatalytic behavior relative to water reduction and oxidation potentials., Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables

In this communication, we report a theoretical attempt to understand the electronic and optical properties of germagraphene, a two-dimensional graphene analogue. We study two different structures, C$_{17}$Ge and C$_{16}$Ge. In the C$_{17}$Ge structure, a germanium atom replaces a carbon atom while in C$_{16}$Ge structure, a carbon-carbon bond is replaced by a single germanium atom. These two types of doping have been experimentally made possible by Tripathi \etal [{\it{ACS Nano (2018) 1254641-4647}}]. We find that C$_{16}$Ge has a planar structure, whereas, the Ge atom in C$_{17}$Ge settles in an out-of-the plane position, resulting in a buckled structure. Due to Ge doping, the band-gaps open up in both. The 1.227 eV direct gap of C$_{17}$Ge is ideal for effective light absorbance and optoelectronic devices. Further study of optical properties supports this claim as well.

We report results from a fast, efficient, and first-principles full-potential N$^{th}$-order muffin-tin orbital (FP-NMTO) method combined with van Leeuwen-Baerends correction to local density exchange-correlation potential. We show that more complete and compact basis set is critical in improving the electronic and structural properties. We exemplify the self-consistent FP-NMTO calculations on group IV and III-V semiconductors. Notably, predicted bandgaps, lattice constants, and bulk moduli are in good agreement with experiments (e.g., we find for Ge $0.86~e$V, $5.57$~\AA, $75$~GPa vs. measured $0.74~e$V, $5.66$~\AA, $77.2$~GPa). We also showcase its application to the electronic properties of 2-dimensional $h-$BN and $h-$SiC, again finding good agreement with experiments., Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, 3 table

In this communication we present a detailed study of the effect of chemical disorder on the optical response of Ni$_{1-x}$Pt$_x$ (0.1$\leq$ x $\leq$0.75) and Ni$_{3(1-x)/3}$Pt$_x$ (0.1$\leq$ x $\leq$0.3). We shall propose a formalism which will combine a Kubo-Greenwood approach with a DFT based tight-binding linear muffin-tin orbitals (TB-LMTO) basis and augmented space recursion (ASR) technique to explicitly incorporate the effect of disorder. We show that chemical disorder has a large impact on optical response of Ni-Pt systems. In ordered Ni-Pt alloys, the optical conductivity peaks are sharp. But as we switch on chemical disorder, the UV peak becomes broadened and its position as a function of composition and disorder carries the signature of a phase transition from NiPt to Ni$_3$Pt with decreasing Pt concentration. Quantitatively this agrees well with Massalski's Ni-Pt phase diagram \cite{massal}. Both ordered NiPt and Ni$_3$Pt have an optical conductivity transition at 4.12 eV. But disordered NiPt has an optical conductivity transition at 3.93 eV. If we decrease the Pt content, it results a chemical phase transition from NiPt to Ni$_3$Pt and shifts the peak position by 1.67 eV to the ultraviolet range at 5.6 eV. There is a significant broadening of UV peak with increasing Pt content due to enhancement of 3d(Ni)-5d(Pt) bonding. Chemical disorder enhances the optical response of NiPt alloys nearly one order of magnitude. Our study also shows the fragile magnetic effect on optical response of disordered Ni$_{1-x}$Pt$_x$ (0.4$<$ x $<$0.6) binary alloys. Our theoretical predictions agree more than reasonably well with both earlier experimental as well as theoretical investigations.

In this work the conducting properties of graphene lattice with a particular concentration of defect (5\% and 10\%) has been studied. The real space block recursion method introduced by Haydock et al. has been used in presence of the random distribution of defects in graphene. This Green function based method is found more powerful than the usual reciprocal based methods which need artificial periodicity. Different resonant states appear because of the presence of topological and local defects are studied within the framework of Green function.

We present a real-space formulation for calculating the electronic structure and optical conductivity of such random alloys based on the Kubo-Greenwood formalism interfaced with the augmented space recursion (ASR) [A. Mookerjee, J. Phys. C: Solid State Phys. {\bf 6}, 1340 (1973)] formulated with the Tight-binding Linear Muffin-tin Orbitals (TB-LMTO) basis with van Leeuwen-Baerends corrected exchange (vLB) [Singh et al, Phys. Rev B {\bf 93}, 085204, (2016)]. This approach has been used to quantitatively analyze the effect of chemical disorder on the configuration averaged electronic properties and optical response of 2D honeycomb siliphene Si$_{x}$C$_{1-x}$ beyond the usual Dirac-cone approximation. We predicted the quantitative effect of disorder on both the electronic-structure and optical response over a wide energy range, and the results discussed in the light of the available experimental and other theoretical data. Our proposed formalism may open up a facile way for planned band gap engineering in opto-electronic applications., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures

Using density functional theory (DFT) based electronic structure calculations, the effects of morphology of semiconducting nano structures on the magnetic interaction between two magnetic dopant atoms as well as a possibility of tuning band gaps have been studied in case of the bi-doped (ZnO)$_{24}$ nano structures with the impurity dopant atoms of the 3$d$ late transition metals (TM) - Mn, Fe, Co, Ni and Cu. To explore the morphology effect, three different structures of the host (ZnO)$_{24}$ nano-system having different degrees of spatial confinement, have been considered : a two dimensional (2D) nanosheet, an one dimensional (1D) nanotube and a finite cage-shaped nanocluster. The present study employs hybrid density functional theory to accurately describe the electronic structure of all the systems. It is shown here that the magnetic coupling between the two dopant atoms, remains mostly anti-ferromagnetic in course of changing the morphology from the sheet geometry to the cage-shaped geometry of the host systems, except for the case of energetically most stable bi-Mn doping, which shows a transition from ferromagnetic to anti-ferromagnetic coupling with decreasing aspect ratio of the host system. The effect of the shape change, however, has a significant effect on the overall band gap variations of both the pristine as well as all the bi-doped systems, irrespective of the nature of the dopant atoms and provides a means for easy tunability of their optoelectronic properties., Comment: 10 pages , 6 figures

The focus of our work is on the production of highly magnetic materials out of Cu clusters. We have studied the relative effects of N-capping as well as N mono-doping on the structural stability and electronic properties of the small Cu clusters using first principles density functional theory based electronic structure calculations. We find that the N-capped clusters are more promising in producing giant magnetic moments, such as 14 $\mu_B$ for the Cu$_6$N$_6$ cluster and 29 $\mu_B$ for the icosahedral Cu$_{13}$N$_{12}$ clusters. This is accompanied by a substantial enhancement in their stability. We suggest that these giant magnetic moments of the capped Cu$_n$ clusters have relevance to the observed room temperature ferromagnetism of Cu doped GaN. For cage-like hollow Cu-clusters, an endohedral Cr-doping together with the N-capping appears as the most promising means to produce stable giant magnetic moments in the copper clusters., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures

We propose an ab-initio combination of the Linear Muffin-Tin Orbital and the Recursion Methods to study the effect of extended Stone-Wales defects in single layer Carbon nanotubes. We have successfully applied this to zigzag and armchair tubes. The methodology involves no intrinsic mean-field like assumptions or external parameter fitting. As defects proliferate, the low density of states near the Fermi levels of the pristine tubes is filled with defect states. The increase of DOS at the Fermi level leads to enhanced conduction, which indicates enhanced metallicity due to SW defects in the nanotubes.

In this paper, we present a theoretical formulation of magnetization dynamics in disordered binary alloys based on Kubo linear response theory interfaced with the combination of seamlessly three approaches; density functional based tight-binding linear muffin-tin orbitals, generalized recursion and Augmented space formalism. We apply this method to study the magnetization dynamics in chemically disordered Fe$_x$Co$_{1-x}$ ($x$ = 0.2, 0.5, 0.8) alloys. We reported that the magnon energies decrease with an increase in Co concentration. Significant magnon softening has been observed in Fe$_{20}$Co$_{80}$ at the Brillouin zone boundary. The magnon-electron scattering increases with increasing Co content which in turn modifies the hybridization between the Fe and Co atoms. This reduces the exchange energy between the atoms and soften down the magnon energy. The lowest magnon lifetime in found in Fe$_{50}$Co$_{50}$, where disorder is maximum. This clearly indicates that the damping of magnon energies in Fe$_x$Co$_{1-x}$ is governed by the hybridization between Fe and Co whereas the magnon lifetime is controlled by disorder configuration. Our atomistic spin dynamics simulations show a reasonable agreement with our theoretical approach in magnon dispersion for different alloy compositions., Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1102.4551, arXiv:1304.7091 by other authors

In this communication we present together four distinct techniques for the study of electronic structure of solids : the tight-binding linear muffin-tin orbitals (TB-LMTO), the real space and augmented space recursions and the modified exchange-correlation. Using this we investigate the effect of random vacancies on the electronic properties of the carbon hexagonal allotrope, graphene, and the non-hexagonal allotrope, planar T graphene. We have inserted random vacancies at different concentrations, to simulate disorder in pristine graphene and planar T graphene sheets. The resulting disorder, both on-site (diagonal disorder) as well as in the hopping integrals (off-diagonal disorder), introduces sharp peaks in the vicinity of the Dirac point built up from localized states for both hexagonal and non-hexagonal structures. These peaks become resonances with increasing vacancy concentration. We find that in presence of vacancies, graphene-like linear dispersion appears in planar T graphene and the cross points form a loop in the first Brillouin zone similar to buckled T graphene that originates from $\pi$ and $\pi$* bands without regular hexagonal symmetry. We also calculate the single-particle relaxation time, $\tau(\vec{q})$ of $\vec{q}$ labeled quantum electronic states which originates from scattering due to presence of vacancies, causing quantum level broadening.

We formulate a spin-polarized van Leeuwen and Baerends (vLB) correction to the local density approximation (LDA) exchange potential [Phys. Rev. A 49, 2421 (1994)] that enforces the ionization potential (IP) theorem following Stein et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 266802 (2010)]. For electronic-structure problems, the vLB-correction replicates the behavior of exact-exchange potentials, with improved scaling and well-behaved asymptotics, but with the computational cost of semi-local functionals. The vLB+IP corrections produces large improvement in the eigenvalues over that from LDA due to correct asympotic behavior and atomic shell structures, as shown on rare-gas, alkaline-earth, zinc-based oxides, alkali-halides, sulphides, and nitrides. In half-Heusler alloys, this asymptotically-corrected LDA reproduces the spin-polarized properties correctly, including magnetism and half-metallicity. We also considered finite-sized systems [e.g., ringed boron-nitirde (B$_{12}$N$_{12}$) and graphene (C$_{24}$)] to emphasize the wide applicability of the method., Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures

The augmented space formalism coupled with the recursion method and a tight-binding linear Muffin-tin orbitals basis has been applied to study the effects of roughness on the properties of (001) surfaces of body-centered cubic Fe and face-centered cubic Co and Ni. The formalism is also proposed for the study of smooth surface. Comparisons have been made for three types of surfaces: a smooth surface, the surface with a rough top layer, and a more realistic model with several rough top layers converging into a crystalline bulk. Comparisons have been made between the magnetic moments, work function and electronic density of states in the three models described above., Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, 6 tables. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1410.3185

The Augmented Space Formalism coupled with Recursion method and Density Functional Theory based Tight-Binding Linear Muffin-Tin Orbitals have been applied for a first principles calculation of surface electronic and magnetic properties of body centered cubic Fe(001) and face centered cubic Co(001) and Ni(001). Nine atomic layers have been studied to see the trend of change in these properties from surface into the bulk. Surface magnetic moment has been found to be higher than that of the bulk and in different layers below, magnetic moments show Friedel oscillations in agreement with other studies. Work functions of these systems have been found to agree with experimental values. We propose this real space technique to be suitable for the study of localized physical properties like surface layers and it is also suitable for the study rough surfaces and interfaces., Comment: 11 pages, 3 tables, 5 figures. Submitted in elsevier

The main aim of this work is to present two different methodologies for configuration averaging in disordered systems. The Recursion method is suitable for the calculation of spatial or self-averaging, while the Augmented space formalism averages over different possible configurations of the system. We have applied these techniques to a simple example and compared their results. Based on these, we have reexamined the concept of spatial ergodicity in disordered systems. The specific aspect, we have focused on, is the question "Why does an experimentalist often obtain the averaged result on a single sample ?" We have found that in our example of disordered graphene, the two lead to the same result within the error limits of the two methods., Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures in Indian J Phys (2015)

We propose here a first-principles, parameter free, real space method for the study of disordered extended defects in solids. We shall illustrate the power of the technique with an application to graphene sheets with randomly placed Stone-Wales defects and shall examine the signature of such random defects on the density of states as a function of their concentration. The technique is general enough to be applied to a whole class of systems with lattice translational symmetry broken not only locally but by extended defects and defect clusters. The real space approach will allow us to distinguish signatures of specific defects and defect clusters., Comment: 11 pages, 24 figures

A reliable prediction of interatomic force constants in disordered alloys is an outstanding problem. This is due to the need for a proper treatment of multisite (atleast pair) correlation within a random environment. The situation becomes even more challenging for systems with large difference in atomic size and mass. We propose a systematic density functional theory (DFT) based study to predict the ab-initio force constants in random alloys. The method is based on a marriage between special quasirandom structures (SQS) and the augmented space recursion (ASR) to calculate phonon spectra, density of states (DOS) etc. bcc TaW and fcc NiPt alloys are considered as the two distinct test cases. Ta-Ta (W-W) bond distance in the alloy is predicted to be smaller (larger) than those in pure Ta (W), which, in turn, yields stiffer (softer) force constants for Ta (W). Pt-Pt force constants in the alloy, however, are predicted to be softer compared to Ni-Ni, due to a large bond distance of the former. Our calculated force constants, phonon spectra and DOS are compared with experiments and other theoretical results, wherever available. Correct trend of present results for the two alloys pave a path for further future studies in more complex alloy systems.

In order to manipulate the properties of graphene, its very important to understand the electronic structure in presence of disorder. We investigate, within a tight-binding description, the effects of disorder in the on-site (diagonal disorder) term in the Hamiltonian as well as in the hopping integral (off-diagonal disorder) on the electronic dispersion and density of states by augmented space recursion method. Extrinsic off-diagonal disorder is shown to have dramatic effects on the two-dimensional Dirac-cone, including asymmetries in the band structures as well as the presence of discontinuous bands in certain limits. Disorder-induced broadening, related to the scattering length (or life-time) of electrons, is modified significantly with the increasing strength of disorder. We propose that our theory is suitable to study the effects of disorder in other 2D materials, e.g., a boron nitride monolayer., Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures

We report an unusual evolution of structure and magnetism in stoichiometric MnO clusters based on an extensive and unbiased search through the potential energy surface within density functional theory. The smaller clusters, containing up to five MnO units, adopt two-dimensional structures; and regardless of the size of the cluster, magnetic coupling is found to be antiferromagnetic in contrast to previous theoretical findings. Predicted structure and magnetism are strikingly different from the magnetic core of Mn-based molecular magnets, whereas they were previously argued to be similar. Both of these features are explained through the inherent electronic structures of the clusters., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures

We apply a new Kubo-Greenwood type formula combined with a generalized Feynman diagram- matic technique to report a first principles calculation of the thermal transport properties of disordered Fe_{1-x}Cr_{x} alloys. The diagrammatic approach simplifies the inclusion of disorder-induced scattering effects on the two particle correlation functions and hence renormalizes the heat current operator to calculate configuration averaged lattice thermal conductivity and diffusivity. The thermal conductivity K(T) in the present case shows an approximate quadratic T-dependence in the low temperature regime (T < 20 K), which subsequently rises smoothly to a T-independent saturated value at high T . A numerical estimate of mobility edge from the thermal diffusivity data yields the fraction of localized states. It is concluded that the complex disorder scattering processes, in force-constant dominated disorder alloys such as Fe-Cr, tend to localize the vibrational modes quite significantly., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures

In this study, we propose a recursive approach to study the transport properties of atomic wires. It is based upon a real-space block-recursion technique with Landauer's formula being used to express the conductance as a scattering problem. To illustrate the method, we have applied it on a model system described by a single band tight-binding Hamiltonian. Results of our calculation therefore may be compared with the reported results on Na-atom wire. Upon tuning the tight-binding parameters, we can distinctly identify the controlling parameters responsible to decide the width as well as the phase of odd-even oscillations in the conductance., Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, table 1

With a goal to produce giant magnetic moment in Mn$_{13}$ cluster which will be useful for practical applications, we have considered the structure and magnetic properties of pure Mn$_{13}$ cluster and substitutionally doped it with X = Ti, V, Cr, Fe, Co, Ni atom to produce Mn$_{12}$X clusters. We find that Ti and V substitutions in Mn$_{13}$ cluster are the most promising in terms of gaining substantial binding energy as well as achieving higher magnetic moment through ferromagnetic alignment of atom-centered magnetic moments. This has been demonstrated in terms of energetics and electronic properties of the clusters. For comparison, we have also studied the effect of N-capping of Mn$_{13}$ cluster, predicted in the earlier work [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 89}, 185504 (2002)] as a means to produce stable giant magnetic moment in Mn clusters upto cluster size of 5 Mn atoms., Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables

We present here an optimized and parallelized version of the {\sl augmented space recursion code} for the calculation of the electronic and magnetic properties of bulk disordered alloys, surfaces and interfaces, either flat, corrugated or rough, and random networks. Applications have been made to bulk disordered alloys to benchmark our code.

Structures, physical and chemical properties of V doped Co$_{13}$ clusters have been studied in detail using density functional theory based first-principles method. We have found anomalous variation in stability of the doped clusters with increasing V concentration, which has been nicely demonstrated in terms of energetics and electronic properties of the clusters. Our study explains the nonmonotonic variation in reactivity of Co$_{13-m}$V$_m$ clusters towards H$_2$ molecules as reported experimentally [J. Phys. Chem. {\bf 94}, 2744 (1990)]. Moreover, it provides useful insight into the cluster geometry and chemically active sites on the cluster surface, which can help to design better catalytic processes., Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, 4 tables

In an earlier communication we have developed a recursion based approach to the study of phase stability and transition of binary alloys. We had combined the recursion method introduced by Haydock, Heine and Kelly and the our augmented space approach with the orbital peeling technique proposed by Burke to determine the small energy differences involved in the discussion of phase stability. We extend that methodology for the study of MnCr alloys., Comment: 11 pages

We present excited states density functional theory (DFT) to calculate band gap for semiconductors and insulators. For the excited states exchange-correlation functional, we use a simple local density approximation (LDA) like functional and it gives the result which is very closed to experimental results. The linear muffin-tin potential is used to solve the self consistent Kohn-Sham equation, Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures

Effects of alloying on the electronic and magnetic properties of Mn$_{x}$Co$_{y}$ ($x+y$=$n$=2-5; $x$=0-$n$) and Mn$_2$Co$_{11}$ nanoalloy clusters are investigated using the density functional theory (DFT). Unlike the bulk alloy, the Co-rich clusters are found to be ferromagnetic and the magnetic moment increases with Mn-concentration, and is larger than the moment of pure Co$_n$ clusters of same size. For a particular sized cluster the magnetic moment increases by 2 $\mu_B$/Mn-substitution, which is found to be independent of the size and composition. All these results are in good agreement with recent Stern-Gerlach (SG) experiments [Phys. Rev. B {\bf 75}, 014401 (2007) and Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 98}, 113401 (2007)]. Likewise in bulk Mn$_x$Co$_{1-x}$ alloy, the local Co-moment decreases with increasing Mn-concentration., Comment: 11 pages, 15 figures. To appear in Physical Review B

Using first-principles density functional calculations, we have studied the magnetic ordering in pure Mn$_n$ ($n=2-$10, 13, 15, 19) and As@Mn$_n$ ($n=1-$10) clusters. Although, for both pure and doped manganese clusters, there exists many collinear and noncollinear isomers close in energy, the smaller clusters with $n\leqslant$5 have collinear magnetic ground state and the emergence of noncollinear ground states is seen for $n\geqslant$6 clusters. Due to strong $p-d$ hybridization in As@Mn$_n$ clusters, the binding energy is substantially enhanced and the magnetic moment is reduced compared to the corresponding pure Mn$_n$ clusters., Comment: 10 Pages and 5 Figures

In this communication we have studied the electronic structure, magnetic and optical properties of bcc \fecr alloys in the ferromagnetic phase. We have used the augmented space recursion technique coupled with tight-binding linearized muffin-tin orbital technique (TB-LMTO-ASR) as well as the coherent-potential approximation based on the Korringa-Kohn-Rostocker method (KKR-CPA). Also the plane wave projector augmented wave (PAW) method has been used with the disorder simulated by the special quasi-random structure method f or configuration averaging (SQS). This was to provide a comparison between the different methods in common use for random alloys. Moreover, using the self-consistent potential parameters from TB-LMTO-ASR ca lculations we obtained the spin resolved optical conductivity using the generalized recursion technique proposed by M\"uller and Vishwanathan., Comment: 13 pages 11 figures

A first principles density functional based linear response theory (the so called Density Functional Perturbation theory \cite{dfpt}) has been combined separately with two recently developed formalism for a systematic study of the lattice dynamics in disordered binary alloys. The two formalisms are the Augmented space recursion (ASR) and the Itinerant coherent potential approximation (ICPA). The two different theories (DFPT-ASR and DFPT-ICPA) systematically provides a hierarchy of improvements upon the earlier single site based theories (like CPA etc.) and includes non-local correlations in the disorder configurations. The formalisms explicitly take into account fluctuations in masses, force constants and scattering lengths. The combination of DFPT with these formulation helps in understanding the actual interplay of force constants in alloys. We illustrate the methods by applying to a fcc Fe$_{50}$Pd$_{50}$ alloy., Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables

In this work we have combined the generalized augmented space method introduced by one of us with the recursion method of Haydock et al (GASR), within the framework of the local density functional based linear muffin-tin orbitals basis (TB-LMTO). Using this we have studied the effect of short-range ordering and clustering on the density of states, optical conductivity and reflectivity of 50-50 CuZn alloys. Our results are in good agreement with alternative techniques. We argue that the TB-LMTO-GASR is a feasible, efficient and quantitatively accurate computational technique for the study of environmental effects in disordered binary alloys., Comment: 11 pages 11 figures

A new formalism using the ideas of the augmented space recursion (introduced by one of us) has been proposed to study the ground state properties of ordered and disordered one-dimensional Holstein model. For ordered case our method works equally well in all parametric regime and matches with the existing exact diagonalization and DMRG results. On the other hand the quenched substitutionally disordered model works in low and intermediate regime of electron phonon coupling. Effect of phononic and substitutional disorder are treated on equal footing., Comment: Accepted for publication in Physica B

We systematically investigate the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of Mn$_n$ clusters ($n =$ 2$-$20) within the {\it ab-initio} pseudopotential plane wave method using generalized gradient approximation for the exchange-correlation energy. A new kind of icosahedral structural growth has been predicted in the intermediate size range. Calculated magnetic moments show an excellent agreement with the Stern-Gerlach experiment. A transition from ferromagnetic to ferrimagnetic Mn$-$Mn coupling takes place at $n=$ 5 and the ferrimagnetic states continue to be the ground states for the entire size range. Possible presence of multiple isomers in the experimental beam has been argued. No signature of non-metal to metal transition is observed in this size range and the coordination dependence of $d-$electron localization is discussed., Comment: 11 Pages and 9 Figures. Physical Review B (in press)

In this paper we shall discuss the effect of disorder induced configuration fluctuations on single particle and two-particle phonon Green functions in substitutional random binary alloys. The randomness of the system will be dealt within the augmented space theorem, introduced by one of us [J. Phys. C : Solid State Phys. 6, L205(1973)]. This will be combined with a generalized Edwards-Langer diagrammatic technique to extract various useful results in the form of mathematical expressions. The purpose of present manuscript will be to describe the scattering diagrams in full detail. This will form the basis of the calculational algorithms which we had used in an earlier paper on NiPd and NiPt alloys [J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 18, 4589-4608 (2006)]. We shall show the structure of all possible scattering diagrams up to the 4-th order and subsequently illustrate how to obtain Dyson's equation from a re-summation of the diagrammatic series. We shall also study how disorder scattering affects two-particle Green functions associated with thermal response. We shall show that disorder scattering renormalizes both the phonon propagators as well as the heat currents. These renormalized heat currents will be shown to be related to the self-energy of the propagators. We shall also study a different class of scattering diagrams which are not related to the self-energy but rather to the vertex corrections., Comment: 26 pages, 14 figures

Numerical calculations of lattice thermal conductivity are reported for the binary alloys NiPd and NiPt. The present work is a continuation of an earlier paper by us [PRB, 72, 214207 (2005)]which had developed a theoretical framework for the calculation of configuration-averaged lattice thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity in disordered alloys. The formulation was based on the augmented space theorem combined with a scattering diagram technique. In this paper we shall show dependence of the lattice thermal conductivity on a series of variables like phonon frequency, temperature and alloy composition. The temperature dependence of $\kappa(T)$ and its realtion to the measured thermal conductivity is discussed. The concentration dependence of $\kappa$ appears to justify the notion of a minimum thermal conductivity as discussed by Kittel, Slack and others. We also study the frequency and composition dependence of the thermal diffusivity averaged over modes. A numerical estimate of this quantity gives an idea about the location of mobility edge and the fraction of states in the frequency spectrum which is delocalized., Comment: 23 pages, 18 figures

We present here a calculation of the configuration averaged optical conductivity of random binary alloys CuAu and AgAu. Our formulation is based on the augmented space formalism proposed by Mookerjee [J. Phys. C : Solid State Phys. {\bf 6} 1340 (1973)] and the optical conductivity is obtained directly through a recursive procedure suggested by Viswanath and M\"uller ["The user friendly recursion method", Troisieme Cycle de la Physique, en Suisse Romande (1993)]., Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures

We present here a formulation for the calculation of the configuration averaged lattice thermal conductivity in random alloys. Our formulation is based on the augmented-space theorem, introduced by one of us, combined with a generalized diagrammatic technique. The diagrammatic approach simplifies the problem of including effects of disorder corrections to a great extent. The approach allows us to obtain an expression for the effective heat current in case of disordered alloys, which in turn is used in a Kubo-Greenwood type formula for the thermal conductivity. We show that disorder scattering renormalizes the phonon propagators as well as the heat currents. The corrections to the current terms have been shown to be related to the self-energy of the propagators. We also study the effect of vertex corrections in a simplified ladder diagram approximation. A mode dependent diffusivity $D_{\gamma}$ and then a total thermal diffusivity averaged over different modes are defined. Schemes for implementing the said formalism are discussed. A few initial numerical results on the frequency and temperature dependence of lattice thermal conductivity are presented for NiPd alloy and are also compared with experiment. We also display numerical results on the frequency dependence of thermal diffusivity averaged over modes., Comment: 16 pages, 17 figures

We report electronic and magnetic structure of arsenic-doped manganese clusters from density-functional theory using generalized gradient approximation for the exchange-correlation energy. We find that arsenic stabilizes manganese clusters, though the ferromagnetic coupling between Mn atoms are found only in Mn$_2$As and Mn$_4$As clusters with magnetic moments 9 $\mu_B$ and 17 $\mu_B$, respectively. For all other sizes, $x=$ 3, 5-10, Mn$_x$As clusters show ferrimagnetic coupling. It is suggested that, if grown during the low temperature MBE, the giant magnetic moments due to ferromagnetic coupling in Mn$_2$As and Mn$_4$As clusters could play a role on the ferromagnetism and on the variation observed in the Curie temperature of Mn-doped III-V semiconductors., Comment: 4 Pages, 3 Figures[1 EPS and 2 JPG files], RevTeX4

In an earlier paper [K. K. Saha and A. Mookerjee, Phys. Rev. B 70 (2004) (in press) or, cond-mat/0403456] we had presented a formulation for the calculation of the configuration-averaged optical conductivity in random alloys. Our formulation is based on the augmented-space theorem introduced by one of us [A. Mookerjee, J. Phys. C: Solid State Phys. 6, 1340 (1973)]. In this communication we shall combine our formulation with the tight-binding linear muffin-tin orbitals (TB-LMTO) technique to study the optical conductivities of two alloys Cu_{50}Au_{50} and Ni_{50}Pt_{50}., Comment: 5 pages, 7 figures

We present here generalization of the recursion method of Haydock et al [1] for the calculation of Green matrices (in angular momentum space). Earlier approaches concentrated on the diagonal elements, since the focus was on spectral densities. However, calculations of configuration averaged response functions or neutron scattering cross-sections require the entire Green matrices and self-energy matrices obtained from it. This necessitated the generalization of the recursion method presented here with examples., Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures

We have studied the problem of phase stability in Fe-Pt and Co-Pt alloy systems. We have used the orbital peeling technique in the conjunction of augmented space recursion based on the tight binding linear orbital method as the method for the calculation of pair interaction energies. In particular, we have generalized our earlier technique to take into account of magnetic effects for the cases where the magnetic transition is higher than the order disorder chemical transition temperature as in the case of Co$_3$Pt. Our theoretical results obtained within this framework successfully reproduce the experimentally observed trends., Comment: 17 pages, 9 Figures. Accepted for publication in Journal of Physics : Condensed Matter

We report here the preparation and measurements on the susceptibility, sound velocity and internal friction for Ni-Pt systems. We then compare these experimental results with the first principle theoretical predictions and show that there is reasonable agreement with experiment and theory., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures. submitted to Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials

Combining the augmented space representation for phonons with a generalized version of Yonezawa-Matsubara diagrammatic technique, we have set up a formalism to seperate the coherent and incoherent part of the total intensity of thermal neutron scattering from disordered alloys. This is done exacly without taking any recourse to mean-field like approximation (as done previously). The formalism includes disorder in masses, force constants and scattering lengths. Implementation of the formalism to realistic situations is performed by an augmented space Block recursion which calculates entire Green matrix and self energy matrix which in turn is needed to evaluate the coherent and incoherent intensities. we apply the formalism to NiPd and NiPt alloys. Numerical results on coherent and incoherent scattering cross sections are presented along the highest symmetry directions. Finally the incoherent intensities are compared with the CPA and also with experiments., Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures

We present here a reciprocal space formulation of the Augmented space recursion (ASR) which uses the lattice translation symmetry in the full augmented space to produce configuration averaged quantities, such as spectral functions and complex band structures. Since the real space part is taken into account {\sl exactly} and there is no truncation of this in the recursion, the results are more accurate than recursions in real space. We have also described the Brillouin zone integration procedure to obtain the configuration averaged density of states. We apply the technique to Ni$_{50}$Pt$_{50}$ alloy in conjunction with the tight-binding linearized muffin-tin orbital basis. These developments in the theoretical basis were necessitated by our future application to obtain optical conductivity in random systems., Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures

We show the differences in the stability of 3d-5d (NiPt and CuAu) and 3d-4d (NiPd and CuAg) alloys arise mainly due to relativistic corrections. The magnetic properties of disordered NiPd and NiPt alloys also differ due to these corrections which lead to increase in the separation between s-d bands of 5d elements in these alloys. For the magnetic case we analyze the results in terms of splitting of majority and minority spin d-band centers of the 3d elements. We further examine the effect of relativistic corrections to the pair energies and order disorder transition temperatures in these alloys. The magnetic moments and Curie temperatures have also been studied along with the short range ordering/segregation effects in NiPt/NiPd alloys., Comment: 15 pages 2 figures, Submitted to Journal of Physics Condensed Matter

We present here a formulation for the calculation of the configuration-averaged optical conductivity in random alloys. Our formulation is based on the augmented-space theorem introduced by one of us [A. Mookerjee, J. Phys. C: Solid State Phys. 6, 1340 (1973)]. We show that disorder scattering renormalizes the electron and hole propagators as well as the transition amplitude. The corrections to the transition amplitude have been shown to be related to the self-energy of the propagators and vertex corrections., Comment: 15 figures, Phys. Rev. B 70 (2004), in press

We present here an efficient method which systematically reduces the rank of the augmented space and thereby helps to implement augmented space recursion for any real calculation. Our method is based on the symmetry of the Hamiltonian in the augmented space and keeping recursion basis vectors in the irreducible subspace of the Hilbert space., Comment: Submitted to Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 18 pages, 8 figures

We have studied the electronic and magnetic properties of Fe-Pt, Co-Pt and Ni-Pt alloy systems in ordered and disordered phases. The influence of various exchange-correlation functionals on values of equilibrium lattice parameters and magnetic moments in ordered Fe-Pt, Co-Pt and Ni-Pt alloys have been studied using linearized muffin-tin orbital method. The electronic structure calculations for the disordered alloys have been carried out using augmented space recursion technique in the framework of tight binding linearized muffin-tin orbital method. The effect of short range order has also been studied in the disordered phase of these systems. The results show good agreements with available experimental values., Comment: 21 pages, 4 eps figures, accepted for publication in Journal of Physics Condensed Matter

In this paper we propose a tight-binding molecular dynamics with parameters fitted to first-principles calculations on the smaller clusters and with an environment correction, to be a powerful technique for studying large transition/noble metal clusters. In particular, the structure and stability of $Cu_n$ clusters for $n=3-55$ are studied by using this technique. The results for small $Cu_n$ clusters ($n=3-9$) show good agreement with {\it ab initio} calculations and available experimental results. In the size range $10\le n \le 55$ most of the clusters adopt icosahedral structure which can be derived from the 13-atom icosahedron, the polyicosahedral 19-, 23-, and 26-atom clusters and the 55-atom icosahedron, by adding or removing atoms. However, a local geometrical change from icosahedral to decahedral structure is observed for $n = 40-44$ and return to the icosahedral growth pattern is found at $n=45$ which continues. Electronic "magic numbers" ($n=2$, 8, 20, 34, 40) in this regime are correctly reproduced. Due to electron pairing in HOMOs, even-odd alternation is found. A sudden loss of even-odd alternation in second difference of cluster binding energy, HOMO-LUMO gap energy and ionization potential is observed in the region $n\sim40$ due to structural change there. Interplay between electronic and geometrical structure is found., Comment: RevTeX, 10 Pages, 5 Figures

We present here an augmented space recursive technique in the k-representation which include diagonal, off-diagonal and the environmental disorder explicitly : an analytic, translationally invariant, multiple scattering theory for phonons in random binary alloys.We propose the augmented space recursion (ASR) as a computationally fast and accurate technique which will incorporate configuration fluctuations over a large local environment. We apply the formalism to $Ni_{55}Pd_{45}$, $Ni_{88}Cr_12}$ and $Ni_{50}Pt_{50}$ alloys which is not a random choice. Numerical results on spectral functions, coherent structure factors, dispersion curves and disordered induced FWHM's are presented. Finally the results are compared with the recent itinerant coherent potential approximation (ICPA) and also with experiments., Comment: 20 pages, LaTeX, 23 figures