2018 International hands-on course on density functional calculations

September 3-7, 2018 (One-week course) and September 3-14, 2018 (Two-week course) in Göttingen, Germany

Announcement: Poster

This block course introduces international students to the state-of-the-art of modern electronic-structure calculations. The course provides the theoretical background on methods and materials as well as a hands-on practical course on the CP-PAW code. The course targets physicists and chemists during their masters or early PhD studies.
After finishing one week of the course, the students will be able to independently develop and carry through density functional calculations as well as to analyze and judge their results.
The participants can decide to attend the course for a second week. In the second week lectures on advanced topics of density functional calculations are presented and the students can carry out guided individual projects which are presented and discussed.

The goal of the course is that students learn to perform density functional calculations of molecules and solids. The students will be able to design electronic structure calculations, perform the calculations, analyze their results and evaluate their quality. The students who also attend the second week of the course will get additional insight into specialized topics of density functional calculations and practise electronic structure calculations in one specialized project out of a proposed selection or from own ideas if suitable.

Organizers:   P.E. Blöchl, M. ten Brink and R. Schade
  E-Mail: handson2018@pt.tu-clausthal.de
UniVZ
U. Göttingen
number 534590
number 534078
UniVZ
TU Clausthal:
number S 2400
number S 2400

The course is organized jointly by the Institute for Theoretical Physics of Clausthal University of Technology, the Institute for Theoretical Physics of the Georg-August University, Göttingen and the CRC 1073 Atomic Scale Control of Energy Conversion funded by the German Research foundation DFG.
The course is part of the Integrated research training group (IRTG) of the CRC 1073.

You can take either of the lines 21, 22 or 23 until the bus stop "Tammannstraße". From the campus apartment you can enter the same lines from the next bus stop "Blauer Turm", which is located in the street "Kreuzbergring", the large street to the left after following the "Weender Landstraße" 100 meter to the south. Again you can take the lines 21, 22 or 23 until the bus stop "Tammannstraße". The physics building is directly across the street.
Enter the physics building through the main entrance, then turn right and follow the corridor till you arrive at a foyer-like room and turn right again to find the lecture hall HS5.

Poster session

We plan to have a short poster session, so that the students can get to know each other and to facilitate scientific exchange. Bringing a poster is optional, but encouraged. The poster should be size A0 (841x1189 mm), but smaller ones are also welcome. If you plan to bring a poster, please let us know the (preliminary) title on the registration form. -->

Program: First week

The course in the first week consists of two lecture series taking place in the morning and practice sessions in the afternoon.

  • Lecture "Theoretical basis of density functional calculations":
    density functional theory, ab-initio molecular dynamics, electronic structure methods, Plane-waves, k-points and supercells.
  • Lecture "Electronic structure made simple:"
    patterns of bonding, from bonds to band structures, the use of symmetry, patterns of atomic structure
  • Practice session "CP-PAW Hands-on":
    Practical exercises using the CP-PAW code for density functional calculations
Monday, September 3, 2018
8:30-9:00 Welcome and Organizational Information
9:00-10:30 Theory Lecture:
Density functional theory I
10:30-11:00 Coffee break and discussions
11:00-12:30 Lecture "Electronic structure made simple":
Patterns of bonding
12:30-14:00 Lunch break
14:00-18:00 Hands-on:
Optimization and electronic structure of the water molecule
18:00- dinner at Göttingen town center (at own expense)
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
9:00-10:30 Theory Lecture:
Density functional theory II
10:30-11:00 Coffee break and discussions
11:00-12:30 Lecture "Electronic structure made simple":
Hybrid orbitals and frontier orbitals
12:30-14:00 Lunch break
14:00-17:00 Hands-on:
Optimization and electronic structure of the malonaldehyde
17:00-19:00 Postersession (in front of HS5)
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
9:00-10:30 Theory Lecture:
Ab-initio molecular dynamics
10:30-11:00 Coffee break and discussions
11:00-12:30 Lecture "Electronic structure made simple":
From bonds to bands
12:30-14:00 Lunch break
14:00-18:00 Hands-on:
Ab-initio molecular dynamics of malonaldehyde
Thursday, September 6, 2018
9:00-10:30 Theory Lecture:
Projector augmented wave method
10:30-11:00 Coffee break and discussions
11:00-12:30 Lecture "Electronic structure made simple":
The use of symmetry
12:30-14:00 Lunch break
14:00-18:00 Hands-on:
Solids and band structures
Friday, September 7, 2018
9:00-10:30 Theory Lecture:
Plane waves, k-points and supercells
10:30-11:00 Coffee break and discussions
11:00-12:30 Lecture "Electronic structure made simple":
Patterns of atomic structure
12:30-14:00 Lunch break
14:00-18:00 Hands-on:
Judging the quality

Program: Second week

The course in the second week consists of:

  • Lecture "Advanced topics of density functional calculations"
  • Guided individual projects
  • Seminar, where participants present their project

The schedule of the second week will be adapted to the needs and interests of the students.

Course material

Lecture notes for the CP-PAW Hands-on course

  • The lecture notes "Theoretical basis of first principles calculations" provide further details to the theory lecture. Printed copies will be handed out in the course.
    As preparation before the course, I recommend to read my article "Theory and practice of density-functional theory" (available online)
  • The lecture "Electronic structure made simple" borrows material from the series of ΦSX lecture notes "ΦSX: Quantum Mechanics of the Chemical Bond". These lecture notes are available on the internet: ΦSX series of lecture notes
  • The practice session of the hands-on course is based on a detailed tutorial. Printed copies will be handed out in the course.

Evaluations

Summary of the student's opinion of the course 2019 (TUC), 2018 (TUC), 2018 (GAU), 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014.

Previous hands-on courses


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