Quantum Theory of Real Materials

Book excerpt: A Festschrift in honor of Professor Marvin L. Cohen This volume is a Festschrift in honor of Professor Marvin L. Cohen. The articles, contributed by leading researchers in condensed matter physics, high-light recent advances in the use of quantum theory to explain and predict properties of real materials. The invention of quantum mechanics in the 1920's provided detailed descriptions of the electronic structure of atoms. However, a similar understanding of solids has been achieved only in the past 30 years, owing to the complex electron-ion and electron electron interactions in these systems. Professor Cohen is a central figure in this achievement. His development of the pseudopotential and total energy methods provided an alternate route using computers for the exploration of solids and new materials even when they have not yet been synthesized. Professor Cohen's contributions to materials theory have been both fundamental and encompassing. The corpus of his work consists of over 500 papers and a textbook. His band structures for semiconductors are used worldwide by researchers in solid state physics and chemistry and by device engineers. Professor Cohen's own use of his theories has resulted in the determination of the electronic structure, optical properties, structural and vibrational properties, and superconducting properties of numerous condensed matter systems including semiconductors, metals, surfaces, interfaces, defects in solids, clusters, and novel materials such as the fullerides and nanotubes.