Physlib.CondensedMatter.TightBindingChain.Basic
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The number of sites in a tight binding chain is non-zero ()
#instNeZeroNatNFor any tight binding chain , the number of sites in the chain is non-zero ().
Hilbert space of a tight binding chain
#HilbertSpaceThe Hilbert space associated with a tight binding chain is the -dimensional complex Hilbert space , where is the number of sites in the chain.
Orthonormal basis of localized states
#localizedStateFor a tight binding chain with sites, the `localizedState` is the orthonormal basis of the associated Hilbert space . Each basis vector (mathematically the standard basis vector ) represents a quantum state where the particle is perfectly localized at the -th site of the chain.
Ket notation for localized states
#term|_⟩The notation represents the localized state at the -th site of the tight binding chain. It denotes the -th vector in the orthonormal basis `localizedState` of the system's Hilbert space, where .
Notation for the inner product of localized states
#term⟨_|_⟩The notation denotes the complex inner product between two localized states in the tight binding chain, where and are the states corresponding to the electron being located at site and site , respectively.
Localized States of the Tight Binding Chain are Orthonormal
#localizedState_orthonormalFor a tight binding chain with sites, the set of localized states is orthonormal in the associated Hilbert space over the complex numbers . That is, the inner product of any two localized states satisfies , where is the Kronecker delta.
for Localized States
#localizedState_orthonormal_eq_iteFor a tight binding chain with sites, let and be the localized states in the Hilbert space corresponding to site indices . The inner product of these states satisfies
Outer product operator of localized states
#localizedCompFor a tight binding chain with sites and associated Hilbert space , let and be the orthonormal localized basis states corresponding to sites . The linear map `localizedComp` represents the outer product operator , which maps a state to the vector , where denotes the complex inner product of the state and .
Outer product operator
#term|_⟩⟨_|For site indices , the notation represents the outer product of the localized states and in the Hilbert space of the tight binding chain. This operator is a linear map that acts on a state as , where is the inner product of the state with the localized state .
In a tight binding chain with sites, let be the orthonormal basis of localized states in the Hilbert space . For any site indices , the action of the outer product operator on a localized state is given by which can be written using the Kronecker delta as .
The adjoint of is
#localizedComp_adjointIn the Hilbert space of a tight binding chain with sites, let be the outer product operator associated with the localized basis states for sites . For any quantum states and in the Hilbert space, the complex inner product satisfies Consequently, the adjoint of the operator is .
Hamiltonian of the tight binding chain
#hamiltonianFor a tight binding chain with sites, on-site energy , and hopping parameter , the Hamiltonian is a linear operator acting on the -dimensional complex Hilbert space . It is defined as: where is the orthonormal basis of localized states at each site. The periodic boundary conditions are implemented by treating the site indices modulo , such that the state is identified with .
The Hamiltonian of the Tight Binding Chain is Hermitian
#hamiltonian_hermitianFor a tight binding chain with associated Hilbert space , the Hamiltonian operator is Hermitian (self-adjoint). That is, for any two quantum states , the complex inner product satisfies:
For a tight binding chain with sites, on-site energy , and hopping parameter , let be the orthonormal basis of localized states in the Hilbert space. For any site index , the action of the Hamiltonian on the localized state is given by where the site indices and are taken modulo to account for periodic boundary conditions.
for sites
#energy_localizedStateFor a tight binding chain with sites and on-site energy , let be the orthonormal basis of localized states in the Hilbert space. If the number of sites is greater than 1, then for any site index , the expectation value of the Hamiltonian in the localized state is equal to the on-site energy :
Brillouin zone
#BrillouinZoneFor a tight binding chain with lattice spacing , the Brillouin zone is defined as the half-open interval . This is the set of values for which wave functions are uniquely defined within the model.
Quantized wavenumbers of the tight binding chain
#QuantaWaveNumberFor a tight binding chain with sites and lattice spacing , the set of quantized wavenumbers associated with the energy eigenstates is defined as: \[ \mathcal{K} = \left\{ \frac{2\pi}{aN} \left( n - \left\lfloor \frac{N}{2} \right\rfloor \right) \mid n \in \{0, 1, \dots, N-1\} \right\} \] where is an index ranging over the sites of the chain. These wavenumbers are defined such that they lie within the Brillouin zone of the system.
Quantized wavenumbers are a subset of the Brillouin zone
#quantaWaveNumber_subset_brillouinZoneFor a tight binding chain with sites and lattice spacing , the set of quantized wavenumbers , defined as \[ \mathcal{K} = \left\{ \frac{2\pi}{aN} \left( n - \left\lfloor \frac{N}{2} \right\rfloor \right) \mid n \in \{0, 1, \dots, N-1\} \right\}, \] is a subset of the Brillouin zone .
for quantized wavenumbers
#quantaWaveNumber_exp_NFor a tight binding chain with sites and lattice spacing , let be the set of quantized wavenumbers. For any natural number and any quantized wavenumber , the complex exponential satisfies: \[ e^{i k n N a} = 1 \] where is the imaginary unit.
for quantized wavenumbers and site indices
#quantaWaveNumber_exp_sub_oneFor a tight binding chain with sites and lattice spacing , let be a quantized wavenumber and be a site index. The following identity holds: \[ e^{i k (n - 1 \pmod N) a} = e^{i k n a} \cdot e^{-i k a} \] where is the imaginary unit and the subtraction is performed modulo to account for periodic boundary conditions.
for quantized wavenumbers and site indices
#quantaWaveNumber_exp_add_oneFor a tight binding chain with sites and lattice spacing , let be a quantized wavenumber and be a site index. The following identity holds: \[ e^{i k (n + 1 \pmod N) a} = e^{i k n a} \cdot e^{i k a} \] where is the imaginary unit and the addition is performed modulo to account for periodic boundary conditions.
Energy eigenstate
#energyEigenstateFor a tight binding chain with lattice spacing and sites, the energy eigenstate associated with a quantized wavenumber is defined as the vector in the Hilbert space given by the linear combination of localized states : \[ \sum_{n=0}^{N-1} e^{ikna} |n\rangle \] where is the imaginary unit and ranges over the indices of the lattice sites.
Energy Eigenstates are Orthogonal: for
#energyEigenstate_orthogonalFor a tight binding chain with sites and lattice spacing , let be the energy eigenstate associated with a quantized wavenumber . For any two distinct quantized wavenumbers such that , the corresponding energy eigenstates are orthogonal: \[ \langle k_1 | k_2 \rangle = 0 \] where denotes the inner product in the -dimensional complex Hilbert space . This orthogonality arises because distinct wavenumbers give rise to different -th roots of unity , and the sum of all -th roots of unity vanishes.
Energy eigenvalue
#energyEigenvalueFor a tight binding chain with lattice spacing , on-site energy , and hopping parameter , the energy eigenvalue associated with a quantized wavenumber is given by: \[ E(k) = E_0 - 2t \cos(ka) \] This formula describes the dispersion relation for an electron in a one-dimensional lattice under the tight-binding approximation.
Time-independent Schrödinger equation
#hamiltonian_energyEigenstateFor a tight binding chain , let be the Hamiltonian operator, be the energy eigenstate associated with a quantized wavenumber , and be the corresponding energy eigenvalue. Then the energy eigenstates satisfy the time-independent Schrödinger equation: \[ H |k\rangle = E(k) |k\rangle \] where represents the action of the Hamiltonian on the state .
