Nonempirical hybrid functionals for band gaps and polaronic distortions in solids

Abstract

We construct hybrid functionals in a nonempirical way by fixing the fraction of Fock exchange through either the long-range screening or the generalized Koopmans' condition applied to defect charge-transition levels. These functionals not only give band gaps of solids as accurate as state-of-the-art $GW$ calculations, but are also capable of describing polaronic distortions. The Koopmans' condition is found to be satisfied across a series of defects, to the point of achieving accurate band gaps through a hydrogen probe. Extension to range-separated functionals demonstrates the robustness of the present approach.