Atomic and electronic structure of germanium clusters at finite temperature using finite difference methods (original) (raw)

Significant advances have been made recently toward understanding the properties of materials through theoretical approaches. These approaches are based either on first-principles quantum mechanical formulations or semiempirical formulations, and have benefitted from increases in computational power. The advent of parallel computing has propelled the theoretical approaches to a new level of realism in modelling physical systems of interest. The theoretical methods and simulation techniques that are currently under development are bound to become powerful tools in understanding, exploring and predicting the properties of existing and novel materials.