ABINIT: First-principles approach to material and nanosystem properties

in Computer Physics Communications (2009), 180

ABINIT allows one to study, from first-principles, systems made of lectrons and nuclei (e.g. periodic solids, molecules, nanostructures, etc.), on the basis of Density-Functional Theory (DFT) and many ... [more ▼]

ABINIT allows one to study, from first-principles, systems made of lectrons and nuclei (e.g. periodic solids, molecules, nanostructures, etc.), on the basis of Density-Functional Theory (DFT) and many-Body Perturbation Theory. beyond the computation of the total energy, charge density and electronic structure of such systems, ABINIT also implements many dynamical, dielectric, thermodynamical, mechanical, or electronic properties, at different levels of approximation. The present paper provides an exhustive account of the capabilities of ABINIT. It should be helpful to scienttists that are not familirized with ABINIT, as well as to already regular users. First, we give a broad overview of ABINIT, including the list of the capabilities and how to access them. Then, we present in more details the recent, advance, developments of ABINIT, with adequate references to the underlying theory, as well as the relevant input variables, tests and, if available, ABINIT tutorials. [less ▲]

First-principles computation of material properties: the ABINIT software project

in Computational Materials Science (2002), 25(3), 478-492492

The density functional theory (DFT) computation of electronic structure, total energy and other properties of materials, is a field in constant progress. In order to stay at the forefront of knowledge, a ... [more ▼]

The density functional theory (DFT) computation of electronic structure, total energy and other properties of materials, is a field in constant progress. In order to stay at the forefront of knowledge, a DFT software project can benefit enormously from widespread collaboration, if handled properly. Also, modern software engineering concepts can considerably ease its development. The ABINIT project relies upon these ideas: freedom of sources, reliability, portability, and self-documentation are emphasised, in the development of a sophisticated plane-wave pseudopotential code. We describe ABINITv3.0, distributed under the GNU General Public License. The list of ABINITv3.0 capabilities is presented, as well as the different software techniques that have been used until now: PERL scripts and CPP directives treat a unique set of FORTRAN90 source files to generate sequential (or parallel) object code for many different platforms; more than 200 automated tests secure existing capabilities; strict coding rules are followed; the documentation is extensive, including online help files, tutorials, and HTML-formatted sources [less ▲]

First-principles computation of material properties: the ABINIT software project.

in Computational Materials Science (2002), 25