Revisiting the Thomas-Fermi Potential for Three-Dimensional Condensed Matter Systems

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1. Verfasser: Marchetti, Gionni
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2023
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author Marchetti, Gionni
author_facet Marchetti, Gionni
contents We proposed a formally exact, probabilistic method to assess the validity of the Thomas-Fermi potential for three-dimensional condensed matter systems where electron dynamics is constrained to the Fermi surface. Our method, which relies on accurate solutions of the radial Schrödinger equation, yields the probability density function for momentum transfer. This allows for the computation of its expectation values, which can be compared with unity to confirm the validity of the Thomas-Fermi approximation. We applied this method to three {\it n}-type direct-gap III-V model semiconductors (GaAs, InAs, InSb) and found that the Thomas-Fermi approximation is certainly valid at high electron densities. In these cases, the probability density function exhibits the same profile, irrespective of the material under scrutiny. Furthermore, we show that this approximation can lead to serious errors in the computation of observables when applied to GaAs at zero temperature for most electron densities under scrutiny.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2310_01600
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Revisiting the Thomas-Fermi Potential for Three-Dimensional Condensed Matter Systems
Marchetti, Gionni
Materials Science
We proposed a formally exact, probabilistic method to assess the validity of the Thomas-Fermi potential for three-dimensional condensed matter systems where electron dynamics is constrained to the Fermi surface. Our method, which relies on accurate solutions of the radial Schrödinger equation, yields the probability density function for momentum transfer. This allows for the computation of its expectation values, which can be compared with unity to confirm the validity of the Thomas-Fermi approximation. We applied this method to three {\it n}-type direct-gap III-V model semiconductors (GaAs, InAs, InSb) and found that the Thomas-Fermi approximation is certainly valid at high electron densities. In these cases, the probability density function exhibits the same profile, irrespective of the material under scrutiny. Furthermore, we show that this approximation can lead to serious errors in the computation of observables when applied to GaAs at zero temperature for most electron densities under scrutiny.
title Revisiting the Thomas-Fermi Potential for Three-Dimensional Condensed Matter Systems
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.01600