The book includes all main physical properties of d- and f-transition-metal systems and corresponding theoretical concepts. Special attention is paid to the theory of magnetism and transport phenomena. Some examples of non-traditional questions which are treated in detail in the book: the influence of density of states singularities on electron properties; many-electron description of strong itinerant magnetism; mechanisms of magnetic anisotropy; microscopic theory of anomalous transport phenomena in ferromagnets. Besides considering classical problems of solid state physics as applied to transition metals, modern developments in the theory of correlation effects in d- and f-compounds are considered within many-electron models. The book contains, where possible, a simple physical discussion. More difficult questions are considered in Appendices.

Macroscopic properties of real materials, such as conductivity, magneticproperties, crystal structure parameters, etc. are closely related or evendetermined by the configuration of their electrons, characterized by electronicstructure. By changing the conditions, e.g, pressure, temperature, magnetic/electric field, chemical doping, etc. one can modify the electronic structure ofsolids and therefore induce a phase transition(s) between different electronic andmagnetic states. One famous example is a Mott metal-to-insulator phase transition,at which a material undergoes a significant, often many orders of magnitude, changeof conductivity caused by the interplay between itineracy and localization of thecarriers. Electronic topological transitions (ETT) involvechanges in the topology of a metal's Fermi surface. This thesis investigates theeffect of such electronic transitions in various materials, ranging from pureelements to complex compounds. To describe the interplay between electronic transitionsand properties of real materials,different state-of-the-art computational methods are used. The densityfunctional theory(DFT), as well as the DFT + U method, is used to calculatestructural properties. The validity of recently introduced exchange-correlationfunctionals, such as the strongly constrained and appropriately normed (SCAN)functional, is also assessed for magnetic elements. In order toinclude dynamical effects of electron interactions we use the DFT + dynamical meanfield theory (DFT + DMFT) method. Experiments in hcp-Os have reported peculiarities in the ratio betweenlattice parameters at high pressure. Previous calculations have suggested these transitions maybe related to ETTs and even crossings of core levels at ultra high pressure. Inthis thesis it is shownthat the crossing of core levels is a general feature of heavy transitionmetals. Experiments have therefore been performed to look for indications ofthis transition in Ir using X-ray absorption spectroscopy. In NiO, strongrepulsion between electrons leads to a Mott insulating state at ambientconditions. It has long been predicted that high pressure will lead to aninsulator-to-metal transition. This has been suggested to be accompanied by aloss of magnetic order, and a structural phase transition. In collaboration withexperimentalists we look for thistransition by investigating the X-ray absorption spectra as well as themagnetic hyperfine field. We find no evidence of a Mott transition up to 280GPa. In the Mott insulator TiPO4, application of external pressure has beensuggested to lead to a spin-Peierls transition at room temperature. Weinvestigate the dimerisation and the magnetic structure of TiPO4 at high pressure.As pressure is increased further, TiPO4 goes through a metal to insulatortransition before an eventual crystallographic phase transition. Remarkably, thenew high pressure phases are found to be insulators; the Mott insulating stateis restored. MAX phases are layered materials that combinemetallic and ceramic properties and feature layers of M-metal and X-C or N atomsinterconnected by A-group atoms. Magnetic MAX-phases with their low dimensionalmagnetism are promising candidates for applications in e.g., spintronics.The validity of various theoretical approaches are discussed in connection tothe magnetic MAX-phase Mn2GaC. Using DFT and DFT + DMFT we consider the hightemperature paramagnetic state, and whether the magnetic moments are formed bylocalized or itinerant electrons. Ett materials makroskopiska egenskaper, såsom ledningsförmåga, magnetiska egenskaper, kristallstrukturparametrar, etc. är relaterade till, eller till och med bestämda av elektronernas konfiguration, vilken karakteriseras av elektronstrukturen. Genom att ändra förhållandena, till exempel via tryck, temperatur, magnetiska och/eller elektriska fält, dopning, etc. är det möjligt att modifiera elektronstrukturen hos ett material, och därigenom inducera fasövergångar mellan olika magnetiska och elektron-tillstånd. Mott metall-till-isolator övergången är ett berömt exempel på en fasövergång, då ett material genomgår en omfattande, ofta flera tiopotenser, förändring i ledningsförmåga, orsakad av samspelet mellan ambulerande och lokaliserade laddningsbärare. Vid en elektronisk-topologisk övergång (eng. electronic topological transition, ETT) sker förändringar i elektronernas energifördelning vilket modifierar materialets Fermi-yta. I den här avhandlingen undersöks dylika övergångar i olika material, från rena grundämnen till komplicerade föreningar. Flera olika toppmoderna beräkningsmetoder används för att redogöra för samspelet mellan elektroniska fasövergångar och egenskaper hos riktiga material. Täthetsfunktionalterori (eng. density functional theory, DFT), samt DFT + U, har används för att beräkna strukturella egenskaper. Lämplighetsgraden i att använda nyligen publicerade exchangecorrelation- funktionaler, såsom SCAN (eng. strongly constrained and appropriately normed), för att beskriva magnetiska grundämnen undersöks även. För att inkludera dynamiska elektronkorrelationer använder vi metoden DFT + dynamisk medelfältteori (eng. dynamical mean field theory, DMFT). Experiment utförda på hcp-Os vid högt tryck visar underliga hopp i kvoten mellan gitterparametrar. Tidigare beräkningar har indikerat att dessa övergångar kan vara relaterade till elektronisk-topologiska övergångar och korsande av kärntillstånd. I den här avhandlingen visas också att korsning av kärntillstånden är en generell egenskap hos tunga övergångsmetaller. Därför utförs röntgenabsorptionsexperiment på Ir för att leta efter tecken på denna typ av övergång. Övergångsmetalloxiden NiO har sedan länge förutspåtts genomgå en isolator till metall Mott-övergång. Det har föreslagits att denna övergång sker vid höga tryck i samband med att materialets magnetiska ordning försvinner och en strukturell övergång sker. I samarbete med experimentalister letar vi efter denna övergång genom att studera röntgenabsorptionsspektra och det magnetiska hyperfina fältet. Vi ser inga indikationer på en Mott-övegång, upp till ett tryck på 280 GPa. Det har föreslagits att Mott-isolatorn TiPO4 genomgår en så kallad spin-Peierls-övergång, vid rumstemperatur, när tryck appliceras. Vi undersöker dimeriseringen och den magnetiska strukturen i TiPO4 som funktion av tryck. Vid höga tryck genomgår TiPO4 ytterligare övergångar, från en isolerande till en metallisk fas för att slutligen genomgå en strukturell övergång. De nya högtrycksfaserna visar sig anmärkningsvärt vara Mott-isolatorer. MAX-faser är en grupp material med specifik kristallstruktur, som kombinerar egenskaper från keramiska material och metaller. En MAX-fas består av lager av M –metall-atomer – och X – kol- eller kväveatomer – vilka sammanbinds av atomer från grupp A. Magnetiska MAX-faser som visar magnetiska egenskaper, liknande de för lågdimensionella material, är lovande kandidater för applikation inom exempelvis spinntronik. Den här avhandlingen undersöker lämplighetsgraden i att använda diverse teoretiska metoder för att beskriva magnetiska MAX-faser. Med hjälp av DFT och DFT + DMFT undersöker vi den paramagnetiska högtemperaturfasen och huruvida de magnetiska momenten bildas av lokaliserade eller ambulerande elektroner.

Treatise on Materials Science and Technology, Volume 21: Electronic Structure and Properties covers the developments in electron theory and electron spectroscopies. The book discusses the electronic structure of perfect and defective solids; the photoelectron spectroscopy as an electronic structure probe; and the electron-phonon interaction. The text describes the elastic properties of transition metals; the electrical resistivity of metals; as well as the electronic structure of point defects in metals. Metallurgists, materials scientists, materials engineers, and students involved in the related fields will find the book useful.

The authors treat atomic aspects of TM physics which, unlike the case of simple metals, are rather important since d- and especially f-states retain in a large measure atomic features. They also review applications of the Racah s angular momentum formalism and Hubbard s many-electron operator representation in the solid state theory, which are seldom discussed in the literature on the metal theory. · The book considers the electronic structure of TM from the band side and contains a brief review of the methods of band structure calculations, including the density functional approach, with special attention to TM peculiarities. The authors discuss some simple model approaches to the band spectrum and related experimental (especially spectral) data, and consider also theoretical and experimental results concerning the Fermi surfaces. A chapter is devoted to thermodynamical properties of TM: cohesive energy and related properties, stability of crystal structures, and specific heat, electronic contributions. · The chapter on magnetic properties discusses various theoretical models describing highly correlated d- and f-electrons. Appendices related to this chapter demonstrate concrete practical applications of the many-electron models, mainly within the simple method of double-time retarded Green s functions. · The chapter on transport phenomena in TM demonstrates a number of peculiarities in comparison with simple metals, e.g., occurrence of spontaneous (anomalous) effects. Quantitative treatment of these effects is performed with the use of density-matrix approach in the operator form. · The book also discusses some questions of the anomalous f-compound theory, in particular various mechanisms for occurrence of heavy electron mass and the problem of competition between the Kondo effect and magnetic interactions.

We present here the transcripts of lectures and talks which were delivered at the NATO ADVANCED STUDY INSTITUTE "Electronic Structure of Complex Systems" held at the State University of Ghent, Belgium during the period July 12-23, 1982. The aim of these lectures was to highlight some of the current progress in our understanding of the electronic structure of com plex systems. A massive leap forward is obtained in bandstructure calculations with the advent of linear methods. The bandtheory also profitted tremendously from the recent developments in the density functional theories for the properties of the interacting electron gas in the presence of an external field of ions. The means of per forming fast bandstructure calculations and the confidence in the underlying potential functions have led in the past five years or so to a wealth of investigations into the electronic properties of elemental solids and compounds. The study of the trends of the electronic structure through families of materials provided invalu able insights for the prediction of new materials. The detailed study of the electronic structure of specific solids was not neglected and our present knowledge of d- and f-metals and metal hydrides was reviewed. For those systems we also investi gated the accuracy of the one electron potentials in fine detail and we complemented this with the study of small clusters of atoms where our calculations are amenable to comparison with the frontiers of quantum chemistry calculations.

The second volume in a series of handbooks on graphene research and applications Graphene is a valuable nanomaterial used in technology. This handbook features graphene topics related to Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. The Handbook of Graphene, Volume 2 delivers an overview on the numerous and diverse graphene research directions and innovations. The handbook covers a range of areas including graphene in optoelectronic devices and as a detector of biomolecules.