Researchers model Kondo interactions in real materials

Caltech and Yale researchers reported a computational method for quantifying Kondo-effect electron interactions using the atomic and electronic structures of real materials rather than simplified models. In a Science paper, the team evaluated seven transition-metal impurities embedded in copper. For most elements, its predictions exceeded the accuracy of model-based calculations by as much as two orders of magnitude. The authors describe the work as an early step toward predictive modeling of more complex correlated materials.