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This article reviews the microscopic origin of properties due to transition-metal (TM) impurities, M, in insulator materials. Particular attention is paid to the influence of pressure upon impurity properties. Basic concepts such as the electronic localization in an MX(N) complex, the electrostatic potential, V(R), arising from the rest of the lattice ions or the elastic coupling of the complex to the host lattice are initially exposed. The dependence of optical and magnetic parameters on the impurity-ligand distance, R, in cubic lattices is discussed in a first step. Emphasis is put on the actual origin of the R dependence of 10Dq. Examples revealing that laws for strict cubic symmetry cannot in general be transferred to lower symmetries are later given. This relevant fact is shown to come from allowed hybridizations like nd-(n+1)s as well as the influence of V(R). As a salient feature the different colour in ruby and emerald is stressed to arise from distinct V(R) potentials in Al(2)O(3) and Be(3)Si(6)Al(2)O(18). The last part of this review deals with electronic instabilities. The phenomena associated with the Jahn-Teller (JT) effect in cubic lattices, the origin of the energy barrier among equivalent minima and the existence of coherent tunnelling in systems like MgO:Cu(2+) are discussed. An increase of elastic coupling is pointed out to favour a transition from an elongated to a compressed equilibrium conformation. Interestingly the equilibrium geometry of JT ions in non-cubic lattices is shown to be controlled by mechanisms different to those in cubic systems, V(R) playing again a key role. The relevance of first principles calculations for clarifying the subtle mechanisms behind off-centre instabilities is also pointed out. Examples concern monovalent and divalent TM impurities in lattices with the CaF(2) structure. The instability due to the transition from the ground to an excited state is finally considered. For complexes with significant elastic coupling vibrational frequencies and the Stokes shift are expected to undergo bigger changes through a chemical rather than a hydrostatic pressure. The reduction of Huang-Rhys factors upon increasing the pressure is discussed as well.

A review of the present status, recent enhancements, and applicability of the SIESTA program is presented. Since its debut in the mid-nineties, SIESTA's flexibility, efficiency and free distribution has given advanced materials simulation capabilities to many groups worldwide. The core methodological scheme of SIESTA combines finite-support pseudoatomic orbitals as basis sets, norm-conserving pseudopotentials, and a real-space grid for the representation of charge density and potentials and the computation of their associated matrix elements. Here we describe the more recent implementations on top of that core scheme, which include: full spin-orbit interaction, non-repeated and multiple-contact ballistic electron transport, DFT+U and hybrid functionals, time-dependent DFT, novel reduced-scaling solvers, densityfunctional perturbation theory, efficient Van der Waals non-local density functionals, and enhanced molecular-dynamics options. In addition, a substantial effort has been made in enhancing interoperability and interfacing with other codes and utilities, such as WANNIER90 and the second-principles modelling it can be used for, an AiiDA plugin for workflow automatization, interface to Lua for steering SIESTA runs, and various postprocessing utilities. SIESTA has also been a) Electronic mail:

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Systems that exhibit phase competition, order parameter coexistence, and emergent order parameter topologies constitute a major part of modern condensed-matter physics. Here, by applying a range of characterization techniques, and simulations, we observe that in PbTiO/SrTiO superlattices all of these effects can be found. By exploring superlattice period-, temperature- and field-dependent evolution of these structures, we observe several new features. First, it is possible to engineer phase coexistence mediated by a first-order phase transition between an emergent, low-temperature vortex phase with electric toroidal order and a high-temperature ferroelectric a/a phase. At room temperature, the coexisting vortex and ferroelectric phases form a mesoscale, fibre-textured hierarchical superstructure. The vortex phase possesses an axial polarization, set by the net polarization of the surrounding ferroelectric domains, such that it possesses a multi-order-parameter state and belongs to a class of gyrotropic electrotoroidal compounds. Finally, application of electric fields to this mixed-phase system permits interconversion between the vortex and the ferroelectric phases concomitant with order-of-magnitude changes in piezoelectric and nonlinear optical responses. Our findings suggest new cross-coupled functionalities.

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Many relevant properties (including superconductivity and colossal magnetoresistance) of layered materials containing Cu(2+), Ag(2+), or Mn(3+) ions are commonly related to the Jahn-Teller instability. Along this line, the properties of the CuF6(4-) complex in the K2ZnF4 layered perovskite have recently been analyzed using a parametrized Jahn-Teller model with an imposed strain [Reinen, D. Inorg. Chem.2012, 51, 4458]. Here, we present results of ab initio periodic supercell and cluster calculations on K2ZnF4:Cu(2+), showing unequivocally that the actual origin of the unusual compressed geometry of the CuF6(4-) complex along the crystal c axis in that tetragonal lattice is due to the presence of an electric field due to the crystal surrounding the impurity. Our calculations closely reproduce the experimental optical spectrum. The calculated values of the equilibrium equatorial and axial Cu(2+)-F(-) distances are, respectively, R(ax) = 193 pm and R(eq) = 204 pm, and so the calculated distortion R(ax) - R(eq) = 11 pm is three times smaller than the estimated through the parametrized Jahn-Teller model. As a salient feature, we find that if the CuF6(4-) complex would assume a perfect octahedral geometry (R(ax) = R(eq) = 203 pm) the antibonding a(1g)*(∼3z(2) - r(2)) orbital is placed above b(1g)*(∼x(2) - y(2)) with a transition energy E((2)A(1g) → (2)B(1g)) = 0.34 eV. This surprising fact stresses that about half the experimental value E((2)A(1g) → (2)B(1g)) = 0.70 eV is not due to the small shortening of the axial Cu(2+)-F(-) distance, but it comes from the electric field, E(R)(r), created by the rest of the lattice ions on the CuF6(4-) complex. This internal field, displaying tetragonal symmetry, is thus responsible for the compressed geometry in K2ZnF4:Cu(2+) and the lack of symmetry breaking behind the ligand relaxation. Moreover, we show that the electronic energy gain in this process comes from bonding orbitals and not from antibonding ones. The present results underline the key role played by ab initio calculations for unveiling all the complexity behind the properties of the model system K2ZnF4:Cu(2+), opening at the same time a window for improving our knowledge on d(9), d(7), or d(4) ions in other layered compounds.

Chirality is a geometrical property by which an object is not superimposable onto its mirror image, thereby imparting a handedness. Chirality determines many important properties in nature-from the strength of the weak interactions according to the electroweak theory in particle physics to the binding of enzymes with naturally occurring amino acids or sugars, reactions that are fundamental for life. In condensed matter physics, the prediction of topologically protected magnetic skyrmions and related spin textures in chiral magnets has stimulated significant research. If the magnetic dipoles were replaced by their electrical counterparts, then electrically controllable chiral devices could be designed. Complex oxide BaTiO/SrTiO nanocomposites and PbTiO/SrTiO superlattices are perfect candidates, since "polar vortices," in which a continuous rotation of ferroelectric polarization spontaneously forms, have been recently discovered. Using resonant soft X-ray diffraction, we report the observation of a strong circular dichroism from the interaction between circularly polarized light and the chiral electric polarization texture that emerges in PbTiO/SrTiO superlattices. This hallmark of chirality is explained by a helical rotation of electric polarization that second-principles simulations predict to reside within complex 3D polarization textures comprising ordered topological line defects. The handedness of the texture can be topologically characterized by the sign of the helicity number of the chiral line defects. This coupling between the optical and novel polar properties could be exploited to encode chiral signatures into photon or electron beams for information processing.