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Evaluating the optical properties of matter under the action of ultrafast light is crucial in modeling laser–surface interaction and interpreting laser processing experiments. We report optimized coefficients for the Drude-Lorentz model describing the permittivity of several transition metals (Cr, W, Ti, Fe, Au, and Ni) under electron-phonon nonequilibrium, with electrons heated up to 30,000 K and the lattice staying cold at 300 K. A Basin-hopping algorithm is used to fit the Drude-Lorentz model to the nonequilibrium permittivity calculated using ab initio methods. The fitting coefficients are provided and can be easily inserted into any calculation requiring the optical response of the metals during ultrafast irradiation. Moreover, our results shed light on the electronic structure modifications and the relative contributions of intraband and interband optical transitions at high electron temperatures corresponding to the laser excitation fluence used for surface nanostructuring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perovskites have recently attracted interest in the field of solar energy due to their excellent photovoltaic properties. We herein present a new approach to the composition of lead free perovskites via mixing of halide and oxide perovskites that share the cubic ABX3 structure. Using first-principles calculations through Density Functional Theory, we systematically investigated the atomic and electronic structures of mixed perovskite compounds composed of four cubic ABX3 perovskites. Our result shows that the B and X atoms play important roles in their band structure. On the other hand, their valence bands contributed by O-2p, Rh-4p, and Ti-3p orbitals, and their electronic properties were determined by Rh-O and Ti-O bonds. With new understandings of the electronic properties of cubic halide or oxide perovskites, we lastly combined the cubic perovskites in various configurations to improve stability and tune the bandgap to values desirable for photovoltaic cell applications. Our investigations suggest that the mixed perovskite compound Cs2Sn2Cl3I3Sr2TiRhO6 produced a bandgap of 1.2 eV, which falls into the ideal range of 1.0 to 1.7 eV, indicating high photo-conversion efficiency and showing promise towards solar energy applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most experimental studies on metallic Pu are on the room temperature monoclinic α-phase or the fcc Ga stabilized δ-phase. Stabilized δ-phase Pu-Ga alloys are metastable and exhibit a martensitic phase transformation to α'-phase at low temperatures, or applied shear, with concentrations lower than three atomic percent Ga. By using first principles, we explore the metastability of δ-phase by investigating the structural and electronic behavior induced by Ga alloying and by a mono-vacancy point defect. We find that a site substitutional Ga induces a tetragonal distortion in the lattice affected by hybridization of Ga 4p and Pu 6d states. With the addition of a mono-vacancy, a monoclinic or tetragonal distortion forms locally (dependent on its distance from Ga), and decoupling of the Pu 5f and 6d states and broadening of the 6d states occurs. This response enables hybridization of Pu 6d with the Ga 4p states affecting the mono-vacancy formation energy. Thus, stabilization of the fcc lattice correlates with hybridization of Pu 6d states with Ga 4p states, and this becomes more evident in the presence of a mono-vacancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]