Slide 2
Slide 2 text
Lattice dynamics
VASP Workshop, 6th Feb 2023 | Slide 2
Dr Jonathan Skelton
Consider the Taylor expansion of the crystal potential energy:
The second-order force constants π½!,!! can be used to derive the phonon modes
within the harmonic approximation
π π = Ξ¦#
+ '
!
'
$
Ξ¦!
$π’!
$ +
1
2
'
!,!!
'
$,%
Ξ¦
!,!!
$% π’!
$π’
!!
% +
1
3!
'
!,!!,!!!
'
$,%,&
Ξ¦
!,!!,!!!
$%& π’!
$π’
!!
% π’
!!!
& + β―
Third- and higher-order force constants e.g. π½!,!!,!!! capture various forms of
anharmonicity and can be used to build on the basic HA e.g. for a perturbative
treatment of phonon lifetimes
Lattice energy
π'())
Atomic forces (vanish
at equilibrium)
Harmonic approx. Anharmonicity