Simple Calcs Qe Mastani

How To Do Simple Calculations
With
Quantum ESPRESSO
Shobhana Narasimhan
Theoretical Sciences Unit
JNCASR, Bangalore
shobhana@jncasr.ac.in
I. About The Quantum
ESPRESSO
Distribution
2
Shobhana Narasimhan, JNCASR
Quantum ESPRESSO
• www.quantum-espresso.org
3
The Quantum ESPRESSO Software Distribution
P. Giannozzi
4
Why “Quantum ESPRESSO”?!
5
Licence for Quantum ESPRESSO
P. Giannozzi
6
Quantum ESPRESSO: Organization
P. Giannozzi
7
Quantum ESPRESSO as a distribution
P. Giannozzi
8
Quantum ESPRESSO as a distribution
OTHER PACKAGES
WANNIER90: Maximally localized Wannier functions
Pwcond: Ballistic conductance
WanT: Coherent Transport from Maximally Localized
Wannier Functions
Xspectra: Calculation of x-ray near edge absorption
spectra
QE-GIPAW: EPR and NMR Chemical Shifts
GWL: GW Band Structure
TD-DFT: Time-Dependent Density Functional Pert. Theory
9
What Can Quantum ESPRESSO Do?
• Both Γ point and k-point calculations.

• Both insulators and metals, with smearing.
• Any crystal structure or supercell form.
• Norm conserving pseudopotentials, ultrasoft PPs, PAW.
• LDA, GGA, DFT+U, hybrid functionals, exact exchange,
meta GGA, van der Waals corrected functionals.
• Spin polarized calculations, non-collinear magnetism,
spin-orbit interactions.
• Nudged elastic band to find saddle points.
• And much more!
10
II. Doing a
“Total Energy”
Calculation
with the
PWscf Package of QE:
The SCF Loop
11
The Kohn-Sham problem
Want to solve the Kohn-Sham equations:
 1 2 
−
 2 ∇ + Vnuc (r ) + VH [ n (r )] + V XC [ n (r )]ψ i (r ) = ε iψ i (r )
H
Note that self-consistent solution necessary, as H
depends on solution:
{ψ i } → n(r ) → H
Convention:
e = h = me = 1
12
Self-consistent Iterative Solution
Vnuc known/constructed
How to solve the
Initial guess n(r) Kohn-Sham eqns.
for a set of fixed
Generate Calculate VH[n] & VXC[n]
new nuclear (ionic)
n(r) Veff(r)= Vnuc(r) + VH (r) + VXC (r) positions.
Hψi(r) = [-1/2∇2 + Veff(r)] ψi(r) = εi ψi(r)
Calculate new n(r) = Σi|ψi(r)|2
No
Self-consistent?
Yes
Problem solved! Can now calculate energy, forces, etc.
13
Kohn-Sham Equations in a Basis
• Can choose to expand wavefunctions in a basis set:

Nb
ψ i (r ) = ∑ ciα fα (r )
α =1
• Eigenvalue equation then becomes:
Σβ Hαβ ciβ = εi ciα

Matrix element Eigenvalue Eigenvector
• Solving ⇔ Have to diagonalize a matrix of size Nb x Nb
Size of basis 14
Some possible basis sets
• Various possible choices of basis:

- Plane waves eiK•r
- Localized sets:
e.g., Gaussians
- Mixed basis
• Choose so that calculation is fast, accurate, convenient.

- Would like Nb to be small?
- Would like form of fα(r) to be simple?
15
Advantages of a Plane Wave Basis
Simple: Easy to take derivatives, etc.⇒ Coding is easy!

Orthonormal: No overlap integrals.
Independent of atomic positions ⇒ No “Pulay forces”;
easy to calculate forces for structural relaxation &
molecular dynamics.
Unbiased: No assumption about where charge
concentrated. (But ∴ also wasteful?)
Easy to control convergence w.r.t. size of basis: only one
parameter Ecut.
Can take advantage of FFT’s : r-space ↔ k-space
16
Disadvantages of a Plane Wave Basis
The set of plane waves is discrete only if the system is
periodic!
(Will discuss…solution = introduction of artificial
supercell or periodic approximant.)
Recall:
- for free electrons, wavefunction = plane wave.
- for nearly free electrons, wavefunction = superposition of
small number of plane waves.
- for tightly bound electrons, need a HUGE number of
plane waves to get an adequate expansion, i.e., Nb very
large!
(Will discuss…solution = introduction of pseudopotentials.)
Sometimes interpretation harder.
17
Periodic Systems & Bloch’s Theorem
• For a periodic system, recall Bloch’s Theorem:

ψ k (r ) = eik •r uk (r )
• uk(r) has the periodicity of the system, i.e.,
u k (r ) = uk (r + R ), where R = lattice vector
• As for all lattice-periodic functions, only certain plane
waves will appear in the Fourier expansion of uk(r) :
1
uk (r ) = ∑ ck ,G eiG •r
where G = reciprocal
lattice vector
Ω G
18
Plane Waves & Periodic Systems
• For a periodic system:

1 where G = reciprocal
ψ (r ) = ∑ c e
k k ,G
i ( k + G ) •r
lattice vector
Ω G
• The plane waves that appear in this expansion can

be represented as a grid in k-space:
ky
• Only true for periodic
systems that grid is
discrete.
kx • In principle, still need
infinite number of
plane waves.
19
Truncating the Plane Wave Expansion
• In practice, the contribution from higher Fourier

components (large |k+G|) is small.
• So truncate the expansion at some value of |k+G|.
• Traditional to express this cut-off in energy units:
ky
E=Ecut
h 2 | k + G |2
≤ Ecut
2m
kx
Input parameter ecutwfc
20
Checking Convergence wrt ecutwfc
• Must always check.

• Monotonic (variational).
21
Step 0:
Defining the (periodic) system
Namelist ‘SYSTEM’

How to Specify the System
• All periodic systems can be specified by a Bravais

Lattice and an atomic basis.
+ =
23
How to Specify the Bravais Lattice / Unit Cell
Input parameter ibrav
- Gives the type of Bravais

lattice (SC, BCC, Hex, etc.)
Input parameters {celldm(i)}
a2 - Give the lengths [&

directions, if necessary] of
a1 the lattice vectors a1, a2, a3
• Note that one can choose a non-primitive unit cell

(e.g., 4 atom SC cell for FCC structure).
24
Atoms Within Unit Cell – How many, where?
Input parameter nat

- Number of atoms in the unit cell
Input parameter ntyp

- Number of types of atoms
Card: ATOMIC_POSITIONS
- Initial positions of atoms (may vary when “relax” done).
-Can choose to give in units of lattice vectors (“crystal”)
or in Cartesian units (“alat” or “bohr” or “angstrom”)
25
What if the system is not periodic?
• Example 1: Want to study

properties of a system with a
surface.
Surface atom
• Presence of surface ⇒ No
periodicity along z.
Bulk atom
z
x
26

properties of a system with a
surface.
• Presence of surface ⇒ No
periodicity along z.
• Use a supercell: artificial
periodicity along z by
repeating slabs separated by
vacuum.
• Have to check convergence z
w.r.t. slab thickness & vacuum
thickness. x
27

properties of a nanowire. z

properties of a cluster
28

properties of a nanowire ⇒
introduce artificial periodicity
along y & z.

properties of a cluster ⇒
introduce artificial periodicity
along x, y & z.
z
29
Shobhana Narasimhan, JNCASR y
• Example 4: Want to study a system with a defect,

e.g., a vacancy or impurity:
30
• Example 4: Want to study a system with a defect,

e.g., a vacancy or impurity:
31
• Example 5: Want to study an amorphous or

quasicrystalline system.
32
• Example 5: Want to study an amorphous or

quasicrystalline system: approximate by a periodic
system (with large unit cell).
33
Artificially Periodic Systems ⇒ Large Unit Cells
• Note: In all these cases, to minimize the effects of

the artificially introduced periodicity, need a large
unit cell.
⇓
• Long a1, a2, a3 (primitive lattice vectors)
⇓
• Short b1, b2, b3 (primitive reciprocal lattice vectors)
⇓
• Many G’s will fall within Ecut sphere!
34
Step 1: Obtaining Vnuc
Vnuc known/constructed
Initial guess n(r)

new
n(r) Veff(r)= Vnuc(r) + VH (r) + VXC (r)
No
Self-consistent?
Yes
35
Nuclear Potential
• Electrons experience a Coulomb potential due to the

nuclei.
• This has a known and simple form:
Z
Vnuc =−
r
• But this leads to computational problems!
36
Problem for Plane-Wave Basis
Core wavefunctions: Valence wavefunctions:

sharply peaked near lots of wiggles near
nucleus. nucleus.
High Fourier components present
i.e., need large Ecut
37
Solutions for Plane-Wave Basis
Core wavefunctions: Valence wavefunctions:

sharply peaked near lots of wiggles near
nucleus. nucleus.
High Fourier components present
i.e., need large Ecut

Don’t solve for the Remove wiggles from
core electrons! valence electrons.
38
Pseudopotentials
• Replace nuclear potential by pseudopotential

• This is a numerical trick that solves these problems
• There are different kinds of pseudopotentials
(Norm conserving pseudopotentials, ultrasoft
pseudopotentials, etc.)
• Which kind you use depends on the element.
Will discuss in much greater detail on July 1 (tomorrow).
39
Pseudopotentials for Quantum Espresso - 1
• Go to http://www.quantum-espresso.org; Click on “PSEUDOPOTENTIALS”
40
Pseudopotentials for Quantum Espresso - 2
• Click on element for which pseudopotential wanted.
41
Pseudopotentials for Quantum-ESPRESSO
Pseudopotential’s name
gives information about :
• type of exchange-
correlation functional
• type of pseudopotential
• e.g.:
42
Element & Vion for Quantum-ESPRESSO
e.g, for calculation on BaTiO3:
ATOMIC_SPECIES
Ba 137.327 Ba.pbe-nsp-van.UPF
Ti 47.867 Ti.pbe-sp-van_ak.UPF
O 15.999 O.pbe-van_ak.UPF
• ecutwfc, ecutrho depend on type of

pseudopotentials used (should test).
• When using ultrasoft pseudopotentials, set

ecutrho = 8-12 × ecutwfc !!
43
Element & Vion for Quantum-ESPRESSO
• Should have same exchange-correlation functional for
all pseudopotentials.
oops!
input
output
44
Step 2: Initial Guess for n(r)
Vion known/constructed
Initial guess n(r)

new
n(r) Veff(r)= Vion(r) + VH (r) + VXC (r)
No
Self-consistent?
Yes
45
Starting Wavefunctions
The closer your starting wavefunction is to the true
wavefunction (which, of course, is something you don’t
necessarily know to start with!), the fewer the scf iterations
needed.
startingwfc ‘atomic’ Superposn of atomic orbitals
‘atomic+random’
‘random’
‘file’
“The beginning is the most important part of the work” - Plato
46
Steps 3 & 4: Effective Potential
Initial guess n(r) or ψi(r) Note that type

of exchange-
Generate Calculate VH[n] & VXC[n] correlation chosen
new
while specifying
pseudopotential
No
Self-consistent?
Yes
47
Exchange-Correlation Potential
• VXC ≡ δEXC/δn contains all the many-body information.

• Known [numerically, from Quantum Monte Carlo ;
various analytical approximations] for homogeneous
electron gas.
• Local Density Approximation:
Exc[n] = ∫ n(r) VxcHOM[n(r)] dr
-surprisingly successful! Replace
pz (in name of pseudopotential)
• Generalized Gradient Approximation(s): Include
terms involving gradients of n(r)
pw91, pbe (in name of pseudopotential)
48
Step 5: Diagonalization
Initial guess n(r)

new
Expensive!
No
Self-consistent?
Yes
49
Diagonalization
• Need to diagonalize a matrix of size NPW × NPW
• NPW >> Nb = number of bands required = Ne/2 or a
little more (for metals).
• OK to obtain lowest few eigenvalues.
• Exact diagonalization is expensive!
• Use iterative diagonalizers that recast
diagonalization as a minimization problem.
Input parameter diagonalization
-which algorithm used for iterative diagonalization
Input parameter nbnd
-how many eigenvalues computed

for metals, choose depending on value of degauss
50
Step 6: New Charge Density
Initial guess n(r)

new
No
Self-consistent?
Yes
51
Brillouin Zone Sums
0
Many quantities (e.g., n, Etot) involve sums over k.

In principle, need infinite number of k’s.
In practice, sum over a finite number: BZ “Sampling”.
Number needed depends on band structure.
Typically need more k’s for metals.
Need to test convergence wrt k-point sampling.
ε εF 1
P =
Nk
∑ P(k)w
k∈BZ
k
Will discuss in greater detail tomorrow

k
52
Types of k-point meshes
0
Special Points: [Chadi & Cohen]
Points designed to give quick convergence for particular
crystal structures.
Monkhorst-Pack:
Equally spaced mesh in reciprocal space.
May be centred on origin [‘non-shifted’] or not [‘shifted’]
b2 K_POINTS { tpiba | automatic | crystal | gamma }
1st BZ
If ‘automatic’, use M-P mesh:
nk1, nk2, nk3, k1, k2, k3
b1 shift
nk1=nk2=4
53
Convergence wrt BZ sampling
Madhura Marathe
Note: Differences in energy usually converge faster than

absolute value of total energy because of error cancellation
(if supercells & k-points are identical or commensurate).
54
Step 7: Check if Convergence Achieved
Initial guess n(r) or ψi(r)

new
No
Self-consistent?
Yes
55
Testing for scf convergence
• Compare nth and (n-1)th approximations for
density, and see if they are close enough that self-
consistency has been achieved.
Input parameter conv_thr
56
Step 8: Mixing
Can take a long
time to reach
self-consistency! Initial guess n(r) or ψi(r)

new
No
Self-consistent?
Yes
57
Mixing
Iterations n of self-consistent cycle:
Successive approximations to density:

nin(n) → nout(n) → nin(n+1).
nout(n) fed directly as nin(n+1) ?? No, usually doesn’t

converge.
Need to mix, take some combination of input and output

densities (may include information from several previous
iterations).
Goal is to achieve self consistency (nout = nin ) in as few

iterations as possible.
58
Mixing in Quantum-ESPRESSO
Input parameter mixing_mode
-Prescription used for mixing.
Input parameter mixing_beta
-How much of new density is used at each step

-Typically use value between 0.1 & 0.7
59
Output Quantities: Total Energy
Perhaps the most

important output
quantity is the TOTAL
ENERGY
Can use, e.g., to
optimize structure
e.g., for a cubic
crystal, where the
structure can be
specified by a single
parameter (side of
cube):
Energy vs. lattice constant or volume is given by
“Equation of State” 60
IV. Structure of
PWscf Input Files
61
PWscf input file
For documentation about input parameters for PWscf,

read INPUT_PW.html in the Doc subdirectory.
The PWscf input file is structured into NAMELISTS and

INPUT_CARDS.
62
PWscf NAMELISTs in Input File
There are three mandatory NAMELISTs:
&CONTROL input variables that control the type of

calculation performed and the amount of I/O.
&SYSTEM input variables that specify the system.
&ELECTRONS input variables that control the algorithms

used to reach a self-consistent solution of the Kohn-
Sham equations.
There are other (optional) namelists...
63
PWscf CARDs in Input File
There are three mandatory CARDs:
ATOMIC_SPECIES name, mass and pseudopotential

used for each species in system.
ATOMIC_POSITIONS coordinates of each atom in unit

cell.
K_POINTS coordinates and weights of the k-points used

for BZ sums..
There are other (optional) CARDs...
64
Other Features / Types of Calculations
0
Spin Polarized Calculations (Magnetism)

Density Functional Perturbation Theory (Phonons)
Nudged Elastic Band (Barriers)
Molecular Dynamics
…and much, much more!
It’s not a bird…
It’s not Superman…
It’s a Plane Wave !
65
The End!
Have fun with Quantum-ESPRESSO!
66

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How To Do Simple Calculations

• Both Γ point and k-point calculations.

• And much more!

Want to solve the Kohn-Sham equations:

Hψi(r) = [-1/2∇2 + Veff(r)] ψi(r) = εi ψi(r)

Calculate new n(r) = Σi|ψi(r)|2

• Can choose to expand wavefunctions in a basis set:

Σβ Hαβ ciβ = εi ciα

• Solving ⇔ Have to diagonalize a matrix of size Nb x Nb

• Various possible choices of basis:

• Choose so that calculation is fast, accurate, convenient.

Simple: Easy to take derivatives, etc.⇒ Coding is easy!

• For a periodic system, recall Bloch’s Theorem:

• For a periodic system:

• The plane waves that appear in this expansion can

• In practice, the contribution from higher Fourier

• Must always check.

Shobhana Narasimhan, JNCASR

• All periodic systems can be specified by a Bravais

Input parameter ibrav

- Gives the type of Bravais

Input parameters {celldm(i)}

a2 - Give the lengths [&

• Note that one can choose a non-primitive unit cell

Input parameter nat

Input parameter ntyp

• Example 1: Want to study

• Example 1: Want to study

• Example 2: Want to study

• Example 3: Want to study

• Example 2: Want to study

• Example 3: Want to study

• Example 4: Want to study a system with a defect,

• Example 4: Want to study a system with a defect,

• Example 5: Want to study an amorphous or

• Example 5: Want to study an amorphous or

• Note: In all these cases, to minimize the effects of

Initial guess n(r)

Generate Calculate VH[n] & VXC[n]

Hψi(r) = [-1/2∇2 + Veff(r)] ψi(r) = εi ψi(r)

Calculate new n(r) = Σi|ψi(r)|2

• Electrons experience a Coulomb potential due to the

• This has a known and simple form:

Core wavefunctions: Valence wavefunctions:

High Fourier components present

i.e., need large Ecut

Core wavefunctions: Valence wavefunctions:

High Fourier components present

i.e., need large Ecut

• Replace nuclear potential by pseudopotential

Will discuss in much greater detail on July 1 (tomorrow).

• Go to http://www.quantum-espresso.org; Click on “PSEUDOPOTENTIALS”

• Click on element for which pseudopotential wanted.

• ecutwfc, ecutrho depend on type of

• When using ultrasoft pseudopotentials, set

Initial guess n(r)

Generate Calculate VH[n] & VXC[n]

Hψi(r) = [-1/2∇2 + Veff(r)] ψi(r) = εi ψi(r)

Calculate new n(r) = Σi|ψi(r)|2