The 23rd ETSF Workshop on Electronic Excitations Interdisciplinary views on quantum many-body theory
The University of Milan, Italy, September 10 – 14, 2018
Group picture in front of Castello Sforzesco
The 2018 edition of the European Theoretical Spectroscopy Facility (ETSF) Workshop on Electronic Excitations has been dedicated at fostering the cross-fertilization between different approaches to many-body phenomena, transcending the traditional barriers between disciplines. The workshop therefore brought together experts facing similar problems from different perspectives, for different applications, and often with a different language. Besides discussing application of many-body theories to excitations in condensed matter, i.e. the traditional field of expertise of ETSF, topics covered by the workshop included nuclear physics, quantum chemistry, ultrafast excitation dynamics, quantum transport, topological insulators and novel algorithmic approaches to many-body problems inspired by machine learning and data science.
Many of you will have heard by now the tragic news that our dearest friend and colleague Alessandro De Vita passed away on Tuesday afternoon. Sandro was killed in a motorbike accident while going to the airport. Commuting between Trieste and London, two most beloved cities for him, was part of his life – a life that he lived so fully.
We have received an outpouring of grief in the last two days that is a testament to how much loved he was, and how strong was his impact in the life of the people that met him – his sharp intelligence, his infinite knowledge, his surprising imagination, his unbridled talk, his mischievous and deeply generous spirit all stood out. And most of all, his passions in life – the friends, the science, the music, the poetry.
Psi-k and CECAM, to which Sandro gave so much, will think of public ways to celebrate him, and any suggestion would be most welcome. If you wanted to dedicate some of your thoughts to him, he would have had a few suggestions himself. Light a candle, somewhere. Say a prayer. Listen to Glenn Gould play the 25th Goldberg variation – he always said that it contained all the sorrow of the world.
We are all with you, Sandro – with Christine, with your family, with your friends.
The 17th International Conference on Density-Functional Theory and its Applications (DFT2017) took place in Tällberg, Sweden, in August 2017. The conference belongs to a series of biennial meetings, which have taken place in Paris (1995), Vienna (1997), Rome (1999), Madrid (2001), Brussels (2003), Geneva (2005), Amsterdam (2007), Lyon (2009), Athens (2011), Durham (2013), Debrecen (2015) and Tällberg (2017). DFT2017 covered a wide range of topics related with density functional theory. It brought together the foremost researchers from all around the world working on the development of the theory, extensions to new fields and providing a broad range of fascinating applications.
Prof. Dr. Olle Eriksson, Uppsala University, Sweden
Prof. Dr. Börje Johansson, KTH Stockholm, Sweden
Dr. Xiaoqing Li, Uppsala University, Sweden
Doc. Stephan Schönecker, KTH Stockholm, Sweden
Prof. Dr. Levente Vitos, KTH Stockholm, Sweden
International Scientific Committee:
Prof. Dr. Henry Chermette, Universite de Lyon, France
Prof. Dr. Claude A. Daul, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Prof. Dr. Jose M. Garcia de la Vega, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain
Prof. Dr. Paul Geerlings, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
Prof. Dr. Paola Gori-Giorgi, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands
Prof. Dr. Miguel A. L. Marques, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany
Prof. Dr. Ágnes Nagy, University of Debrecen, Hungary
Prof. Dr. Dennis R. Salahub, University of Calgary, Canada
Prof. Dr. Karlheinz Schwarz, Vienna University of Technology, Austria
Prof. Dr. David J. Tozer, University of Durham, United Kingdom
Prof. Dr. Levente Vitos, KTH Stockholm, Sweden
Group photo of the 17TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON DENSITY-FUNCTIONAL THEORY AND ITS APPLICATIONS – August 21-25, 2017, Sweden
Description and summary:
In 2017, the broadest international meeting on DFT was organized for the first time in Scandinavia.Fifty three years passed since the fundamental theorems behind one of the most successful quantum theory of inhomogeneous electron gas were put forward. Already in its original form, DFT was suitable to explain a series of phenomena related to simple molecules and solids. It took nearly a quarter of century when it became robust enough to account for the magnetic ground state of a chunk of single crystal iron. More than a decade of future research was required in order to extend the scope of DFT to complex high-technology materials. Continue reading Scientific report on the 17th International Conference on Density-Functional Theory and its Applications→
Point defects acting as color centers in solids may realize single photon source and quantum bits that can be harnessed in quantum information processing and nanoscale sensor applications which may revolutionize the info-communication technology, biological research and therapy. The leading contender is the nitrogenvacancy center in diamond which may be considered as a robust quantum tool. Several quantum algorithms and protocols for sensing have been already demonstrated by this center. However, researchers face many materials science problems in order to maintain the favorable intrinsic properties of this color center that can be perturbed by other defects either in bulk or at the surface of diamond that is difficult to resolve because of its chemical hardness and the concurrent stability of carbon allotropes.
Recently, theory-driven search for alternative materials could identify other quantum bit candidates in technologically mature wide band gap semiconductors, particularly silicon carbide, that have been recently demonstrated in experiments. However, the knowledge about these color centers is scarce and only the tight collaboration of experimental and atomistic simulation researchers would lead to a rapid progress in the field. The proposed workshop aims at bringing together world-leading experts in all these fields to improve interdisciplinary cooperation overcoming traditional boundaries between scientific disciplines.
Ab initio (from electronic structure) calculation of complex processes in materials
