Lattice dynamics : From fundamental research to practical applications

Abstract

To everyone, who has knowingly or unknowingly supported, inspired, or in any other way helped me, thank you. With that said, I feel like I need to especially mention some of you. To start with, I would like to thank my supervisor Igor Abrikosov, for his guidance, encouragement, and tireless feedback. To my first co-supervisor Olle Hellman and my favourite collaborator Nina Shulumba, thank you for making this time such an enjoyable adventure. I also have to thank Ferenc Tasnádi, my second co-supervisor, for his enthusiastic support and many valuable, informative, and amusing discussions and conversations. To the members of the Theory of Disordered Materials unit and its leader Björn Alling, thank you for your shared experience, knowledge, and feedback, especially during this last period of time. And to my remaining colleagues and friends from Linköping University, thank you for all the work related stuff and for things like after-works, travel adventures, culture exchange dinners, hitting the gym, and derailed gags. Of all the comrades that e'er I had, I am also very thankful to. The ones from LRK, TLBC, and old times, thank you for all the time we spent together that have and have not become epic stories. To my family, I wish to express my sincere gratitude for everything they have done for me. And finally to my Marie, thank you, this would have been so much more difficult without you. v Contents Abstract iii Acknowledgments v Contents vii List of Figures ix List of Tables xv 5 Calculating properties from thermally excited supercells 29 5.