ABINIT Discussion Forums

Hello All,

I was wondering if the SCAILD (self-consistent ab initio lattice dynamics) method has been fully implemented within the latest version of ABINIT.

The following source discusses the method as implemented in ABINIT: http://abiwebold.pcpm.ucl.ac.be/ws11/verstraete.pdf
However, at the time of this presentation, the method/code sounded like it was far from perfect/final.
The relevant input variable is "outscphon", which gives files for self-consistent phonons.

So, if it is implemented and updated within the latest version of ABINIT, is it able to used for materials of all lattice types?
In the original SCAILD software (SCPH) developed by P. Souvatzis, the method can only be used for compounds of cubic or hexagonal symmetry.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

An update:

The SCAILD method is not currently being implemented in Abinit. However, a different method which can also compute phonon dispersions at non-zero temperatures, namely the Temperature Dependent Effective Potential (TDEP) method developed by Olle Hellman, is planning to be implemented in the next version of Abinit.

I can confirm this - the proto-implementation of SCAILD was removed from abinit last year, and TDEP will be announced in the coming versions.