Coherent Potential Approximation Research Articles

Effective medium theory for viscoelasticity of soft jammed solids

The viscoelastic properties of soft jammed solids, such as foams, emulsions, and soft colloids, have been extensively studied in experiments. A particular focus has been placed on the phenomenon of anomalous viscous loss, characterized by a storage modulus and a loss modulus , where ω represents the frequency of the applied strain. In this work, we aim to develop a microscopic theory that explains these experimental observations. Our approach is based on effective medium theory (EMT), also referred to as coherent potential approximation theory. By incorporating the effects of contact damping, a key characteristic of soft jammed solids, into the EMT, we offer new insights into the viscoelastic behavior of these materials. The theory not only explains the observed viscoelastic properties but also links the anomalous viscous loss to the marginal stability inherent in amorphous systems. This research lays the groundwork for a microscopic theory that effectively describes the impact of damping on soft jammed solids and their characteristic viscoelastic behaviors.

Effect of (Zr, Ta) doping on electronic and magnetic properties of zinc-blende MgTe DMS compound: AB-initio approach

This study utilizes density functional theory (DFT) and the Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker coherent potential approximation (KKR-CPA) to explore the effects of zirconium (Zr) and tantalum (Ta) doping on the electronic and magnetic properties of zinc-blende MgTe. The electronic configurations of Mg1-x(TM)xTe (TM = Zr, Ta) were analyzed, revealing that Zr induces magnetic behavior with near-total spin polarization, while Ta doping leads to metallic behavior with partial polarization. The variations in magnetic moments are largely determined by impurity concentrations, with ferromagnetic stability in both systems driven by a double exchange interaction mechanism. Additionally, Curie temperatures exceeding room temperature were observed for specific doping concentrations. These results suggest significant potential for MgTe-based materials in spintronic applications. The findings further illustrate that Zr-doped alloys display half-metallicity, making them especially promising for future spintronics device development. KEY WORDS: DMS, KKR-CPA, Polarization, Metallic behavior, Curie temperature, Double exchange, Spintronic Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2025, 39(1), 153-164. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v39i1.13

Structure and physical properties of modified Ti2MnAl compound – Ti2Fe0.5Cr0.5Al and Ti2MnAl0.5In0.5 case

Ti2MnAl was believed to be Spin Gapless Semiconducting (SGS) material, but this state can be achieved only in an inverted variant of Heusler structure. This specific structure is not realized under normal conditions, however, earlier reports suggest that substituting Al by In or Sn should make it possible. This was the motivation for studying the structural and physical properties of Ti2MnAl0.5In0.5 alloy in this paper. We also studied isoelectronic Ti2Fe0.5Cr0.5Al material, as it is well known that properties of Heusler compounds strongly depend on the valence electron count. We report a combined experimental and theoretical study, where we synthesized substituted variants and measured their diffraction patterns. Additionally we performed ab initio calculations using several methods to study the stability of the resulting compounds. We also examined the impact of disorder within Coherent Potential Approximation. Experimental XPS (X-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy) spectra, magnetic susceptibility and electrical resistivity are also discussed.

Optimizing the composition of (Ce,La)(Co,Fe)5for permanent magnet applications using density functional theory.

In this work, we calculated physical quantities, including the magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant (Ku) and magnetization (Ms), for disordered (Ce,La)(Co,Fe)5systems. Based on the results, we propose CeCo4.7Fe0.3as the optimum composition for high-performance permanent magnets. The calculations employed the full-potential Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker Green's function method, and dealt with the compositional disorder of the systems within the coherent potential approximation. It was found that the La doping reducesKuat 0 K but increases the Curie temperature (TC), which leads to improvement of the magnetic properties at high temperatures. CeCo4.7Fe0.3had the largest magnetic anisotropy ofKu= 15.14 MJ/m3, which is larger than that of CeCo5(Ku= 14.77 MJ/m3).TCof CeCo4.7Fe0.3estimated by the mean-field approximation was 1005 K, which exceeds that of CeCo5(965 K). Further, our calculations showed that while doping of Fe destabilizes the system, CeCo4.7Fe0.3is stable against decomposition into the simple substances. We also show calculated data that are informative for exploring high-performance permanent magnet materials in this paper.

Enhancing hydrogen storage properties of titanium hydride TiH2 with vacancy defects and uniaxial strain: A first-principles study

The structural, electronic, and thermodynamic properties of titanium hydride TiH2 have been investigated using the principles of density functional theory based on the coherent potential approximation (CPA) integrated in the AkaiKKR package, with the aim of reducing the high stability and decomposition temperature to create an ideal material for hydrogen storage, thereby meeting DOE (the U.S. Department of Energy) standard conditions (formation enthalpy ΔH = −40 kJ/mol.H2 and a decomposition temperature Tdes from 289 to 393 K).This study focuses particularly on the effects of titanium vacancy creation and the application of uniaxial deformation on the compound. The results show that with 12% of titanium vacancies, the formation energy increase from −122.34 kJ/mol.H2 to −40.97 kJ/mol.H2 and the temperature of desorption decreases from 936.045 K to 313.49 K, while −8% compressive uniaxial deformation achieve the value −41.42 kJ/mol.H2 and 316.97 K.

Geometrical effective medium model of electric conduction of partially saturated clays

The current existing researches were discussed to assess the advantages and limitations of existing empirical and theoretical models for direct conductivity (DC) prediction. Prior research has demonstrated that an effective medium model may not accurately reflect the actual situation due to the presence of two types of water (bound water and bulk water) in clay-rich materials. Furthermore, the existing models can not satisfy the prediction of electrical conductivity of metal ions adsorbed clay or unsaturated clay. To address this issue, a new Effective Medium Double Water (EMDW) model was proposed based on multiple scattering techniques, which encompasses soil particles, surface-bound water layers, and bulk water and was established by controlled soil types and degrees of saturation. The novel EMDW model includes the Coherent Potential Approximation (CPA), which has consistently demonstrated superior agreement with experimental data when compared to other approximation models. Moreover, the binomial expansion approximation was utilized to simplify the formula and facilitate its use. The developed conductivity model was validated with data from other researchers. In comparison to other well-established conductivity models, the proposed EMDW model has clear physical meaning and can accurately compute matrix conductivity utilizing modified coated particle conductivity and saturation conductivity. The findings suggest that matrix conductivity in clay materials is significantly correlated with electrical-physical parameters, such as porosity, degree of saturation, shape of each discontinuous phase, and conductivity of surface-bound water and bulk water. Consequently, the new EMDW model is a theoretically grounded, physically meaningful, and easy-to-use model for conductivity prediction in clay materials.

Ab initio framework for deciphering trade-off relationships in multi-component alloys

While first-principles methods have been successfully applied to characterize individual properties of multi-principal element alloys (MPEA), their use in searching for optimal trade-offs between competing properties is hampered by high computational demands. In this work, we present a framework to explore Pareto-optimal compositions by integrating advanced ab initio-based techniques into a Bayesian multi-objective optimization workflow, complemented by a simple analytical model providing straightforward analysis of trends. We benchmark the framework by applying it to solid solution strengthening and ductility of refractory MPEAs, with the parameters of the strengthening and ductility models being efficiently computed using a combination of the coherent-potential approximation method, accounting for finite-temperature effects, and actively-learned moment-tensor potentials parameterized with ab initio data. Properties obtained from ab initio calculations are subsequently used to extend predictions of all relevant material properties to a large class of refractory alloys with the help of the analytical model validated by the data and relying on a few element-specific parameters and universal functions that describe bonding between elements. Our findings offer crucial insights into the traditional strength-vs-ductility dilemma of refractory MPEAs. The proposed framework is versatile and can be extended to other materials and properties of interest, enabling a predictive and tractable high-throughput screening of Pareto-optimal MPEAs over the entire composition space.

Understanding thermal transport in magnesium solid solutions through first-principles approaches and machine learning feature screening

The solid solution phases have a large influence on the thermal conductivity of alloys, but the physics behind this effect is complicated. Existing works mainly utilize experimental methods to study the thermal conductivity of alloys. However, due to the coexistence of multi-phase and insufficient understanding of the microscopic property variations in different alloy systems, it remains unclear how different solute atoms can affect the thermal transport of solid solutions. In this work, we employ first-principles simulations based on the Korringa–Kohn–Rostoker coherent potential approximation method and the Boltzmann transport equation to calculate the thermal conductivity of 38 binary magnesium solid solutions with dilute solute atom concentration. Solute atoms can greatly reduce the thermal conductivity of magnesium. Phonon contribution is found to be less than 10 %. The machine learning feature screening methods are further applied to identify the key properties that influence their thermal conductivity the most. Different from the commonly used Linde's law, which states that the resistivity is proportional to the square of valence difference, the machine learning screening indicates that thermal conductivity is predominantly influenced by six features in total. Among them, the variance of the density of states of s + p, d + f orbitals at Fermi level is highly correlated to the electronic thermal conductivity of magnesium alloys. These correlations underscore the role of virtual bond states formed in magnesium alloys due to the presence of solute atoms. The developed method and uncovered physical mechanism can potentially be applied to other solid solution systems, which is an important step to achieve predictive design of high thermal conductivity metallic alloy.

Out of time order correlation of the Hubbard model with random local disorder.

The out-of-time-order correlator (OTOC) serves as a powerful tool for investigating quantum information spreading and chaos in complex systems. We present a method employing non-equilibrium dynamical mean-field theory and coherent potential approximation combined with diagrammatic perturbation on the Schwinger-Keldysh contour to calculate the OTOC for correlated fermionic systems subjected to both random disorder and electron interaction. Our key finding is that random disorder enhances the OTOC decay in the Hubbard model for the metallic phase in the weakly interacting limit. However, the current limitation of our perturbative solver restricts the applicability to weak interaction regimes.

Theoretical Study of the Magnetic Properties of the SmFe12−xMox (x = 1, 2) and SmFe10Mo2H Compounds

We present theoretical investigations examining the electronic and magnetic properties of the SmFe12−xMox (x = 1, 2) and SmFe10Mo2H compounds, including magneto-crystalline anisotropy, magnetic moments, exchange-coupling parameters, and Curie temperatures. The spin-polarized fully relativistic Korringa–Kohn–Rostoker (SPR-KKR) band structure method has been employed, using the coherent potential approximation (CPA) to deal with substitutional disorder. Hubbard-U correction was applied to the local spin density approximation (LSDA+U) in order to account for the significant correlation effects arising from the 4f electronic states of Sm. According to our calculations, the total magnetic moments increases with H addition, in agreement with experimental data. Adding one H atom in the near-neighbor environment of the Fe 8j site reduces the magnetic moments of Fe 8j and enhances the magnetic moment of Fe 8f. For every investigated alloy, the site-resolved spin magnetic moments of Fe on the 8i, 8j, and 8f sites exhibit the same magnitude sequence, with msFe (8i) > msFe (8j) > msFe (8f). While the addition of H has a positive impact on magneto-crystalline anisotropy energy (MAE), the increase in Mo concentration is detrimental to MAE. The computed exchange-coupling parameters reveal the highest values between the closest Fe 8i spins, followed by Fe 8i and Fe 8j spins, for all investigated alloys. The Curie temperature of the alloys under investigation is increased by decreasing the Mo concentration or by H addition, which is qualitatively consistent with experimental findings.

Physical properties of MnFeAl-based alloys affected by Mn content and annealing

The present study is devoted to the Mn2.4Fe0.8Al0.8 and Mn2FeAl alloys prepared by induction melting and studied in their original and subsequently annealed states. The annealing was carried out at 773 K/100 h and 1073 K/100 h in the argon atmosphere. The microstructure, phase composition, magnetic properties, and atom arrangement are followed with regard to Mn content and annealing conditions.The scanning electron microscopy completed by the energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and neutron activation analysis has detected single-phase alloys with compositions close to the nominal ones. Their structure, analyzed by X-ray diffraction, was found to be primitive cubic β-Mn with the lattice parameters of 0.6359(2) nm for Mn2.4Fe0.8Al0.8 and 0.6339(1) nm for Mn2FeAl. The coherent potential approximation calculations and positron annihilation spectroscopy have allowed obtaining an overview to the arrangement of Mn, Fe, and Al atoms in the β-Mn structure and formation of the open volume defects. It is shown that Mn atoms occupy predominantly 8c Wyckoff sites and remaining Mn, Fe and Al atoms occupy 12d sites in equal 1/3 proportion. The open volume defects, vacancies and vacancy clusters, occur in both alloys and both annealed states in a very low concentration. From the magnetic viewpoint, both alloys in the as-prepared state and after annealing at 773 K/100 h are paramagnetic at room temperature with transition to antiferromagnetic state at about 30-40 K. The ac susceptibility measurements have indicated spin glass nature of the Mn2FeAl alloys. The annealing at a higher temperature, 1073 K/100 h, has affected mainly Mn2.4Fe0.8Al0.8 alloy manifesting a weak ferro-/ferrimagnetic contribution at room temperature contributing to a strong magnetic ordering below 42 K.

Phase stability and elastic properties of NbMoTaWMx (M = Al, V, Zr, Tc, Re and Ir) RHEAs: A first-principles assessment

Using the exact muffin-tin orbital (EMTO) method in combination with the coherent potential approximation (CPA), we studied the influence of alloying elements Al, V, Zr, Tc, Re and Ir on the phase stability, lattice parameters, densities, and elastic properties of NbMoTaWMx (M = Al, V, Zr, Tc, Re, Ir; 0 ≤ x ≤ 1.0) refractory high entropy alloys. The predicted lattice parameter and elastic parameters agree with the available experimental and theoretical data. We calculated the atomic size difference (δ), the valence electron concentration (VEC) and the total energy of face-centered cubic (fcc), body-centered cubic (bcc) and hexagonal closed-pack (hcp) structures. We found that all studied NbMoTaWMx (M = Al, V, Zr, Tc, Re, Ir; 0 ≤ x ≤ 1.0) systems have the bcc structure. We showed that Al and Ir decrease the stability of the bcc structure and Zr significantly enlarges the lattice parameter of the host. Vanadium increases the ductility of NbMoTaW system. On the other hand, Al and Ir have strongly non-linear effect on the ductility, with clear minimum at x = 0.55. The present results provide consistent theoretical data and call for experimental investigation for these alloys.

Coherent potential approximation study of impurity effect on monolayer hexagonal boron phosphide

Impurity doping is a necessary technology for the application of semiconductor materials in microelectronic devices. The quantification of doping effects is crucial for controlling the transport properties of semiconductors. Here, taking two-dimensional (2D) hexagonal boron phosphide semiconductor as an example, we employ coherent potential approximation method to investigate the electronic properties of 2D semiconductor materials at low doping concentrations, which cannot be exploited with conventional density function theory. The results demonstrate that the positive or negative impurity potential in 2D semiconductors determines whether it is p-type or n-type doping, while the impurity potential strength decides whether it is shallow-level or deep-level doping. Impurity concentration has important impacts on not only the intensity but also the broadening of impurity peak in band gap. Importantly, we provide the operating temperature range of hexagonal boron phosphide as a semiconductor device under different impurity concentrations and impurity potentials. The methodology of this study can be applied to other 2D semiconductors, which is of great significance for quantitative research on the application of 2D semiconductors for electronic devices.

The effects of V doping on the intrinsic properties of SmFe10Co2 alloys: A theoretical investigation

The present study focuses on the intrinsic properties of the SmFe10Co2-xVx (x = 0–2) alloys, which includes the SmFe10Co2 alloy, one of the most promising permanent magnets with the ThMn12 type of structure due to its large saturation magnetization (µ0Ms = 1.78 T), high Curie temperature (Tc = 859 K), and anisotropy field (µ0Ha = 12 T) experimentally obtained. Unfortunately, its low coercivity (<0.4 T) hinders its use in permanent magnet applications. The effect of V-doping on magnetization, magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy, and Curie temperature is investigated by electronic band structure calculations. The spin-polarized fully relativistic Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker (SPR-KKR) band structure method, which employs the coherent potential approximation (CPA) to deal with substitutional disorder, has been used. The Hubbard-U correction to local spin density approximation (LSDA + U) was used to account for the large correlation effects due to the 4f electronic states of Sm. The computed magnetic moments and magnetocrystalline anisotropy energies were compared with existing experimental data to validate the theoretical approach’s reliability. The exchange-coupling parameters from the Heisenberg model were used for obtaining the mean-field estimated Curie temperature. The magnetic anisotropy energy was separated into contributions from transition metals and Sm, and its relationships with the local environment, interatomic distances, and valence electron delocalization were analyzed. The suitability of the hypothetical SmFe10CoV alloy for permanent magnet manufacture was assessed using the calculated anisotropy field, magnetic hardness, and intrinsic magnetic properties.

Temperature dependence on magnetic moment formation at a Ce impurity in Gd, Tb, and Dy: An intermediate valence model

Based on the influence of the Ce intermediate valence on magnetic properties in metallic systems, we theoretically study the local magnetic moment formation at a Ce impurity diluted in Gd, Tb, and Dy rare earth metals at finite temperatures. To investigate this point, our model considers the functional integral formalism, coherent potential approximation, and extracting relative charge from the Ce 4f-resonance and transferring it to the 5d Ce band at the temperature range from 0K to Curie critical temperature. As a result, our self-consistent calculation, focusing on temperature dependence, shows that the intermediate valence model explains the regimes of the local magnetic moments and magnetic hyperfine fields. Moreover, our results for the temperature dependence on magnetic hyperfine fields at the Ce site in Gd and Tb agree with experimental reports.

Spin transport study in a disordered-metal/ferromagnetic-insulator heterostructure based on full counting statistics within the coherent potential approximation

Spin transport study in a disordered-metal/ferromagnetic-insulator heterostructure based on full counting statistics within the coherent potential approximation

Evolution of the Electronic Properties of SrFe1 − x − y − zAlxMnyCozO3 Solid Solutions Depending on the Composition and the Degree of Localization of Electronic States

The genesis of the electronic spectrum in SrFe1 −xAlxO3, SrFe1 −xMnxO3, SrFe1 −xCoxO3, SrFe1 − 2xAlxCoxO3, and SrFe1−y−zMnyCozO3cubic solid solutions of strontium ferrite, where0⩽x⩽0.15and0⩽y,z⩽0.125, is studied in the coherent potential approximation. The inclusion of electron correlations on 3datoms makes it possible to reproduce the experimental content tendencies in the variation of the electronic and magnetic properties. It is shown that codoping of ferrite with cobalt and aluminum effectively increases the concentration of electron carriers and their degree of localization in SrFe1 −x− 0.15AlxCo0.15O3, which is of interest in the development of oxide thermoelectrics. Due to a relatively large contribution from delocalized states at the Fermi level, SrFe1 −y−zMnyCozO3solid solutions withy=z=0.1−0.12are promising electrode materials.

Theoretical study on the origin of anomalous temperature-dependent electric resistivity of ferromagnetic semiconductor

Employing Korringa–Kohn–Rostoker Green’s function methodology, our investigation elucidates the previously obscure origins of the anomalous temperature-dependent electrical resistivity behavior of (Ga,Mn)As ferromagnetic semiconductors. Phonon and magnon excitations induced by temperature effects are addressed via the coherent potential approximation, while the Kubo–Greenwood formula is employed to compute transport properties. Consequently, the anomalous temperature-dependent electrical resistivity arising from the ferromagnetic–paramagnetic transition is successfully replicated. Our examination of electronic structures and magnetic interactions reveals pivotal roles played by antisite defects and interstitial Mn atoms in governing this behavior. As this approach enables both the estimation of temperature-dependent transport properties and the assessment of underlying mechanisms from a microscopic standpoint, it holds significant potential as a versatile tool across diverse fields.

Impurity Resistivity of the Earth's Inner Core

AbstractSeismic observations suggest that the Earth's inner core has a complex structure (e.g., the isotropic layer at the top, innermost inner core, and hemispherical dichotomy). These characteristics are believed to reflect the history of dynamics and temperature profile of the inner core. One critical physical property is the inner core's thermal conductivity. The thermal conductivity of metals can be estimated from their electrical resistivity using the Wiedemann‐Franz law. Recent high‐pressure and temperature experiments revealed that the temperature dependence of electrical resistivity is small for Fe‐Si alloys. The small temperature coefficient means that it is essential to determine the impurity resistivity of Fe alloys to constrain the inner core's thermal conductivity. Therefore, this study systematically calculated the impurity resistivities of 4‐ and 6‐component alloys at inner core pressure by combining the Korringa‐Kohn‐Rostoker method with the coherent potential approximation. As a result, we obtained the thermal conductivity of the inner core to be 150–263 W/m/K. The inner core cannot maintain thermal convection with such a high thermal conductivity, resulting in a flat temperature profile. In materials science, it is widely known that polycrystals soften suddenly at high temperatures a few percent below their melting temperature. If such a pre‐melting occurs in the inner core, the flat temperature profile due to high thermal conductivity causes variations in the attenuation within the inner core. This may explain the observation that the upper inner core is more strongly attenuated than the innermost inner core.

Electronic structure of SrFe1−x(Mn,Co)xO3-δ: A CPA case study

A new methodology is suggested for determining and using the Coulomb interaction parameter U(t2g), taking into account the different energy localizations of t2g and eg states in disordered transition metal perovskite-like oxides, based on the local spin density approximation with Coulomb interaction correction method and the coherent potential approximation. The adjustment of U(t2g)’s relies on the best coincidence of the experimental and calculated maxima in X-ray absorption/reflection spectra at simultaneous demand for the calculated magnetic moments to closely correspond to their experimental values in cubic oxides SrFeO3, SrMnO3, and SrCoO3. Then, the obtained U’s are utilized in order to construct the Green functions for calculating the electronic properties of strongly correlated perovskite-like solid solutions within the coherent potential method. The high efficiency of the proposed methodology has been demonstrated by a close coincidence of the experimentally observed and calculated X-ray emission/absorption spectra, magnetic moments, density of states at the Fermi level, and electronic conductivity in the disordered non-stoichiometric SrFeO3-δ, SrFe0.75Mn0.25O3-δ, and SrFe0.85Co0.15O3-δ phases. The composition SrFe0.85Co0.15O3-δ is proposed as a promising electrode material with enhanced characteristics of electric transport.