Exchange and correlation effects in the relaxation of hot electrons in noble metals

TL;DR

This study uses first-principles calculations within many-body theory to analyze how exchange and correlation effects influence the inelastic lifetime of low-energy electrons in noble metals, finding minimal overall impact.

Contribution

It provides a detailed first-principles analysis of exchange and correlation effects on hot electron relaxation in noble metals using the GWΓ approximation.

Findings

Exchange and correlation effects partially cancel each other.

GWΓ linewidths are similar to xc-free G^0W^0 results.

Short-range xc effects are small in noble metals.

Abstract

We report extensive first-principles calculations of the inelastic lifetime of low-energy electrons in the noble metals Cu, Ag, and Au. The quasiparticle self-energy is computed with full inclusion of exchange and correlation (xc) effects, in the framework of the GW\Gamma approximation of many-body theory. Although exchange and correlation may considerably reduce both the screening and the bare interaction of hot electrons with the Fermi gas, these corrections have opposite signs. Our results indicate that the overall effect of short-range xc is small and GW\Gamma linewidths are close to their xc-free G^0W^0 counterparts, as occurs in the case of a free-electron gas.