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Isosurface of the square modulus of a Bloch wave in silicon lat- 1 Applications and consequences
tice
1.1 Applicability
The most common example of Blochs theorem is de-
scribing electrons in a crystal. However, a Bloch-wave
description applies more generally to any wave-like phe-
nomenon in a periodic medium. For example, a periodic
dielectric in electromagnetism leads to photonic crystals,
and a periodic acoustic medium leads to phononic crys-
tals. It is generally treated in the various forms of the
Solid line: A schematic of a typical Bloch wave in one dimension. dynamical theory of diraction.
(The actual wave is complex; this is the real part.) The dotted line
is from the eikr factor. The light circles represent atoms.
1.2 Meaning and non-uniqueness of the k-
A Bloch wave (also called Bloch state or Bloch function vector
or Bloch wave function), named after Swiss physicist
Felix Bloch, is a type of wavefunction for a particle in a Suppose an electron is in a Bloch state
periodically-repeating environment, most commonly an
electron in a crystal. A wavefunction is a Bloch wave
if it has the form:[1] (r) = eikr u(r),
1
2 2 PROOF OF BLOCHS THEOREM
n1 a1 + n2 a2 + n3 a3
rst Brillouin zone, then every Bloch state has a unique k.
where ni are three integers, then the atoms end up in the
Therefore, the rst Brillouin zone is often used to depict
same set of locations as they started.
all of the Bloch states without redundancy, for example
in a band structure, and it is used for the same reason in Another helpful ingredient in the proof is the reciprocal
many calculations. lattice vectors. These are three vectors b1 , b2 , b3 (with
units of inverse length), with the property that ai bi =
When k is multiplied by the reduced Plancks constant, it
2, but ai bj = 0 when i j. (For the formula for b, see
equals the electrons crystal momentum. Related to this,
reciprocal lattice vector.)
the group velocity of an electron can be calculated based
on how the energy of a Bloch state varies with k; for more
details see crystal momentum. 2.2 Lemma about translation operators
Let Tn1 ,n2 ,n3 denote a translation operator that shifts ev-
1.3 Detailed example ery wave function by the amount n1 a1 + n2 a2 + n3 a3 (as
above, nj are integers). The following fact is helpful for
For a detailed example in which the consequences of the proof of Blochs theorem:
Blochs theorem are worked out in a specic situation, see
the article: Particle in a one-dimensional lattice (periodic Lemma: If a wavefunction is
potential). an eigenstate of all of the transla-
tion operators (simultaneously),
then is a Bloch wave.
2 Proof of Blochs theorem
Proof: Assume that we have a wavefunction which is
an eigenstate of all the translation operators. As a special
Next, we prove Blochs theorem: case of this,
Again, the j are three numbers which do not depend on Mathematically Blochs theorem is interpreted in terms
r. Dene k = 1 b1 + 2 b2 + 3 b3 , where bj are the of unitary characters of a lattice group, and is applied to
reciprocal lattice vectors (see above). Finally, dene spectral geometry.[3][4][5]
Finally, we are ready for the main proof of Blochs theo- Tight-binding model
rem. Wannier function
As above, let Tn1 ,n2 ,n3 denote a translation operator that
shifts every wave function by the amount n1 a1 + n2 a2
+ n3 a3 , where ni are integers. Because the crystal has 5 References
translational symmetry, this operator commutes with the
Hamiltonian operator. Moreover, every such translation [1] Kittel, Charles (1996). Introduction to Solid State Physics.
operator commutes with every other. Therefore, there New York: Wiley. ISBN 0-471-14286-7.
is a simultaneous eigenbasis of the Hamiltonian opera-
tor and every possible Tn1 ,n2 ,n3 operator. This basis is [2] Magnus, W; Winkler, S (2004). Hills Equation. Courier
Dover. p. 11. ISBN 0-486-49565-5.
what we are looking for. The wavefunctions in this ba-
sis are energy eigenstates (because they are eigenstates [3] Kuchment, P.(1982), Floquet theory for partial dieren-
of the Hamiltonian), and they are also Bloch waves (be- tial equations, RUSS MATH SURV., 37,1-60
cause they are eigenstates of the translation operators; see
[4] Katsuda, A.; Sunada, T (1987). Homology and closed
Lemma above).
geodesics in a compact Riemann surface. Amer. J. Math.
110: 145156. doi:10.2307/2374542.
3 History and related equations [5] Kotani M; Sunada T. (2000). Albanese maps
and an o diagonal long time asymptotic for
the heat kernel. Comm. Math. Phys. 209:
The concept of the Bloch state was developed by Felix 633670. Bibcode:2000CMaPh.209..633K.
Bloch in 1928, to describe the conduction of electrons doi:10.1007/s002200050033.
in crystalline solids. The same underlying mathemat-
ics, however, was also discovered independently sev-
eral times: by George William Hill (1877), Gaston Flo- 6 Further reading
quet (1883), and Alexander Lyapunov (1892). As a re-
sult, a variety of nomenclatures are common: applied to
Neil W. Ashcroft & N. David Mermin (1976). Solid
ordinary dierential equations, it is called Floquet theory
State Physics. Orlando: Harcourt. ISBN 0-03-
(or occasionally the LyapunovFloquet theorem). Various
049346-3.
one-dimensional periodic potential equations have spe-
cial names, for example, Hills equation:[2] Felix Bloch (1928). "ber die Quantenmechanik
der Elektronen in Kristallgittern. Z. Phys.
( ) 52: 555600. Bibcode:1929ZPhy...52..555B.
d2 y doi:10.1007/BF01339455.
+ 0 + 2 n cos(2nx) y = 0,
dx2 n=1 H. Fll. Periodic Potentials and Blochs Theorem
lectures in Semiconductors I"". The University of
where the n are constants. Hills equation is very gen- Kiel.
eral, as the -related terms may be viewed as a Fourier se-
ries expansion of a periodic potential. Other much stud- M.S.P. Eastham (1973). The Spectral Theory of Pe-
ied periodic one-dimensional equations are the Kronig riodic Dierential Equations. Texts in Mathematics.
Penney model and Mathieus equation. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press.
4 6 FURTHER READING
7.2 Images
File:BlochWave_in_Silicon.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/BlochWave_in_Silicon.png License:
CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: PWSCF, WanT and xCrysDen (w:Density functional theory) Original artist: Lorenzo Paulatto (Paulatz)
File:BlochWaves1D.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/BlochWaves1D.svg License: CC0 Contributors:
Own work Original artist: Sbyrnes321
File:Bloch_function.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Bloch_function.svg License: CC BY 4.0 Con-
tributors: Own work Original artist: Nicoguaro