FEAST fundamental framework for electronic structure calculations: Reformulation and solution of the muffin-tin problem

In a recent article Polizzi (2009) [15], the FEAST algorithm has been presented as a general purpose eigenvalue solver which is ideally suited for addressing the numerical challenges in electronic structure calculations. Here, FEAST is presented beyond the “black-box” solver as a fundamental modeling framework which can naturally address the original numerical complexity of the electronic structure problem as formulated by Slater in 1937 [3]. The non-linear eigenvalue problem arising from the muffin-tin decomposition of the real-space domain is first derived and then reformulated to be solved exactly within the FEAST framework. This new framework is presented as a fundamental and practical solution for performing both accurate and scalable electronic structure calculations, bypassing the various issues of using traditional approaches such as linearization and pseudopotential techniques. A finite element implementation of this FEAST framework along with simulation results for various molecular systems is also presented and discussed.