eprintid: 637 rev_number: 32 eprint_status: archive userid: 1 dir: disk0/00/00/06/37 datestamp: 2005-06-14 12:00:00 lastmod: 2021-09-26 23:03:24 status_changed: 2008-01-09 13:20:13 type: article metadata_visibility: show item_issues_count: 0 creators_name: Alfe, D creators_name: Gillan, MJ title: Schottky defect formation energy in MgO calculated by diffusion Monte Carlo subjects: 11000 subjects: 10600 divisions: UCL divisions: B04 divisions: C06 divisions: F57 divisions: F60 keywords: AUGMENTED-WAVE METHOD, MAGNESIUM-OXIDE, IONIC SOLIDS, QUANTUM abstract: The energetics of point defects in oxide materials plays a major role in determining their high-temperature properties, but experimental measurements are difficult, and calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) are not necessarily reliable. We report quantum Monte Carlo calculations of the formation energy E-S of Schottky defects in MgO, which demonstrate the feasibility of using this approach to overcome the deficiencies of DFT. In order to investigate system-size errors, we also report DFT calculations of E-S on repeating cells of up to similar to 1000 atoms, which indicate that QMC calculations on systems of only 54 atoms should yield high precision. The DFT calculations also provide the relaxed structures used in the variational and diffusion Monte Carlo calculations. For MgO, we find E-S to be in close agreement with results from DFT and from model interaction potentials, and consistent with the scattered experimental values. The prospects for applying the same approach to transition metal oxides such as FeO are indicated. date: 2005-06 date_type: published publisher: AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOC vfaculties: VMPS vfaculties: VMPS oa_status: green primo: open primo_central: open_green article_type_text: Article verified: verified_batch elements_source: Web of Science elements_id: 71708 doi: 10.1103/PhysRevB.71.220101 lyricists_name: Alfe, Dario lyricists_name: Gillan, Michael lyricists_id: DALFE65 lyricists_id: MJGIL49 full_text_status: public publication: PHYS REV B volume: 71 number: 22 article_number: 220101 pagerange: ? - ? refereed: TRUE issn: 1098-0121 citation: Alfe, D; Gillan, MJ; (2005) Schottky defect formation energy in MgO calculated by diffusion Monte Carlo. PHYS REV B , 71 (22) , Article 220101. 10.1103/PhysRevB.71.220101 <https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.71.220101>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/637/1/mgo_qmc2.pdf