Plasmon Lifetime in K: A Case Study of Correlated Electrons in Solids Amenable to [ital Ab Initio] Theory
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-1200 (United States) Solid State Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6030 (United States)
We solve the puzzle posed by the anomalous dispersion of the plasmon linewidth in K via all-electron density-response calculations, performed within the framework of time-dependent density-functional theory. The key damping mechanism is shown to be decay into particle-hole pairs involving empty states of d symmetry. While the effect of many-particle correlations is small, the correlations built into the [open quotes]final-state[close quotes] d bands play an important, and novel, role related to the phase-space complexity introduced by these flat bands. Our case study of plasmon lifetime in K illustrates the importance of [ital ab initio] paradigms for the study of excitations in correlated-electron systems. [copyright] [ital 1999] [ital The American Physical Society]
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-96OR22464
- OSTI ID:
- 6463176
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review Letters, Vol. 82:11; ISSN 0031-9007
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
[ital Ab] [ital initio] calculation of band structure, x-ray emission, quantum yield, and electron-energy-loss spectra of hexagonal boron nitride
{ital Ab-initio} calculation of excited state absorption of Cr{sup 4+} in Y{sub 3}Al{sub 5}O{sub 12}