Coarse grained density functional theory for the study of defects in crystalline materials

Kaushik Bhattacharya, CalTech
February 1st, 2017 at 3:30PM–4:30PM in 891 Evans Hall [Map]

Defects determine critical properties of crystalline materials even though they occur at relatively low concentrations. They can interact over long distances through slowly decaying fields whose strength depends on the electronic structure of the core. Thus the study of defects requires electronic resolutions with continuum range. This talk will describe some of the mathematical and computational challenges that arise, and outline a sub-linear scaling method for computing the electronic structure of solids at continuum scales.