ABINIT, file handling input variables:

Complete list and description.


This document lists and provides the description of the name (keywords) of "file handling" input variables to be used in the main input file of the abinit code.

The new user is advised to read first the new user's guide, before reading the present file. It will be easier to discover the present file with the help of the tutorial.

When the user is sufficiently familiarized with ABINIT, the reading of the ~abinit/doc/users/tuning file might be useful. For response-function calculations using abinit, please read the response function help file

Copyright (C) 1998-2014 ABINIT group (DCA, XG, RC)
This file is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License, see ~abinit/COPYING or http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.txt .
For the initials of contributors, see ~abinit/doc/developers/contributors.txt .

Content of the file : alphabetical list of "file handling" variables.


A.
B.
C. cmlfile  
D.
E.
F.
G. getbscoup   getbseig   getbsreso   gethaydock   getddk   getden   getkss   getocc   getqps   getscr   getsuscep   getwfk   getwfq   get1den   get1wf  
H.
I. irdbscoup   irdbseig   irdbsreso   irdhaydock   irdddk   irdden   ird1den   irdkss   irdqps   irdscr   irdsuscep   irdwfk   irdwfq   ird1wf  
J.
K. kssform  
L.
M. mffmem   mkmem  
N.
O.
P. prtcml   prtden   prtdos   prtdosm   prteig   prtelf   prtfsurf   prtgden   prtgeo   prtgkk   prtkden   prtkpt   prtlden   prtpot   prtspcur   prtstm   prtvha   prtvhxc   prtvol   prtvolimg   prtvxc   prtwant   prtwf   prtxml   prt1dm  
Q.
R.
S.
T.
U.
V.
W.
X.
Y.
Z.





cmlfile
Mnemonics: Chemical Markup Language FILE
Characteristic: NOT INTERNAL
Variable type: character string
Default is no file.

Used to import some of the data from one or more Chemical Markup Language 2 (CML2) file(s) (one per dataset). Unlike most of the other input variables, it refers to a character string, e.g. :

 cmlfile ../t67.in_CML.xml
The file is preprocessed, and the relevant information is translated in order to be used as an alternative to the usual input variables. Note that the input variables directly defined in the usual input file have precedence over the CML data : the latter are used only when there is no occurence of the corresponding keyword in the input file...
The ABINIT CML parser is still quite primitive. The mechanism followed to parse the CML file is described afterwards.
The ABINIT CML parser will localize in the CML file the first occurence of a 'molecule' markup section. It will ignore all other occurences of 'molecule'. Inside this 'molecule' section, it will localize the first occurences of the 'crystal', 'symmetry' and 'atomArray' sections. All other occurences, and all other sections, are ignored.
The following ABINIT input variables will be extracted from these sections of the CML file (if the data is available) :
These limited parsing capabilities are enough for ABINIT to read the CML files it has created thanks to the use of the prtcml input variable. Mixing CML files with normal input or xyzfile will not work.




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables

getbscoup
Mnemonics: GET the Bethe-Salpeter COUPling block from ...
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer
Default is 0.

Eventually used when ndtset>0 (multi-dataset mode) and, in the case of a Bethe-Salpeter calculation to indicate that the starting coupling block of the excitonic Hamiltonian will be taken from the output of a previous dataset. It is used to chain the calculations, since it describes from which dataset the OUTPUT coupling block is to be taken, as INPUT of the present dataset.
If getbscoup==0, no such use of previously computed coupling block file is done.
If getbscoup is positive, its value gives the index of the dataset to be used as input.
If getbscoup is -1, the output of the previous dataset must be taken, which is a frequently occuring case.
If getbscoup is a negative number, it indicates the number of datasets to go backward to find the needed file. In this case, if one refers to a non existant data set (prior to the first), the coupling block is not initialised from a disk file, so that it is as if getbscoup=0 for that initialisation.




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



getbseig
Mnemonics: GET the Bethe-Salpeter EIGenstates from ...
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer
Default is 0.

Eventually used when ndtset>0 (multi-dataset mode) and, in the case of a Bethe-Salpeter calculation to indicate that the starting excitonic eigenstates are to be taken from the output of a previous dataset. It is used to chain the calculations, since it describes from which dataset the OUTPUT eigenstates are to be taken, as INPUT eigenstates of the present dataset.
If getbseig==0, no such use of previously computed output eigenstates file is done.
If getbseig is positive, its value gives the index of the dataset from which the output states is to be used as input.
If getbseig is -1, the output eigenstates of the previous dataset must be taken, which is a frequently occuring case.
If getbseig is a negative number, it indicates the number of datasets to go backward to find the needed file. In this case, if one refers to a non existant data set (prior to the first), the eigenstates are not initialised from a disk file, so that it is as if getbseig=0 for that initialisation.




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



getbsreso
Mnemonics: GET the Bethe-Salpeter RESOnant block from ...
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer
Default is 0.

Eventually used when ndtset>0 (multi-dataset mode) and, in the case of a Bethe-Salpeter calculation to indicate that the starting resonant block of the excitonic Hamiltonian will be taken from the output of a previous dataset. It is used to chain the calculations, since it describes from which dataset the OUTPUT resonant block is to be taken, as INPUT of the present dataset.
If getbsreso==0, no such use of previously computed resonant block file is done.
If getbsreso is positive, its value gives the index of the dataset to be used as input.
If getbsreso is -1, the output of the previous dataset must be taken, which is a frequently occuring case.
If getbsreso is a negative number, it indicates the number of datasets to go backward to find the needed file. In this case, if one refers to a non existant data set (prior to the first), the resonant block is not initialised from a disk file, so that it is as if getbsreso=0 for that initialisation.




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



gethaydock
Mnemonics: GET the Haydock restart file from ...
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer
Default is 0.

Eventually used when ndtset>0 (multi-dataset mode) and, in the case of a Bethe-Salpeter calculation to indicate that the Haydock iterative technique will be restarted from the output of a previous dataset.
If gethaydock==0, no such use of previously computed coupling block file is done.
If gethaydock is positive, its value gives the index of the dataset to be used as input.
If gethaydock is -1, the output of the previous dataset must be taken, which is a frequently occuring case.
If gethaydock is a negative number, it indicates the number of datasets to go backward to find the needed file. In this case, if one refers to a non existant data set (prior to the first), the coupling block is not initialised from a disk file, so that it is as if gethaydock=0 for that initialisation.




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



getden
Mnemonics: GET the DENsity from ...
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

Eventually used when ndtset>0 (multi-dataset mode) and, in the case of a ground-state calculation, if iscf<0 (non-SCF calculation), to indicate that the starting density is to be taken from the output of a previous dataset. It is used to chain the calculations, since it describes from which dataset the OUTPUT density are to be taken, as INPUT density of the present dataset.
If getden==0, no such use of previously computed output density file is done.
If getden is positive, its value gives the index of the dataset from which the output density is to be used as input.
If getden is -1, the output density of the previous dataset must be taken, which is a frequently occuring case.
If getden is a negative number, it indicates the number of datasets to go backward to find the needed file. In this case, if one refers to a non existant data set (prior to the first), the density is not initialised from a disk file, so that it is as if getden=0 for that initialisation. Thanks to this rule, the use of getden -1 is rather straightforward : except for the first density, that is not initialized by reading a disk file, the output density of one dataset is input of the next one.
Be careful : the output density file of a run with non-zero ionmov does not have the proper name (it has a "TIM" indication) for use as an input of an iscf<0 calculation.
One should use the output density of a ionmov==0 run.
NOTE : a negative value of a "get" variable indicates the number of datasets to go backwards; it is not the number to be subtracted from the current dataset to find the proper dataset. As an example :

ndtset 3   jdtset 1 2 4  getXXX -1
refers to dataset 2 when dataset 4 is initialized.




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables

getkss
Mnemonics: GET Kohn-Sham Structure from ...
Characteristic: GW
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

Used when ndtset>0 (multi-dataset mode) and optdriver=3 or 4 (a GW calculation), to indicate that the KSS wavefunction file is to be taken from the output of a previous dataset. It is used to chain the calculations, since it describes from which dataset the OUTPUT wavefunctions are to be taken, as INPUT of the present dataset.
If getkss==0, no such use of previously computed output KSS file is done.
If getkss is positive, its value gives the index of the dataset from which the output KSS file is to be used as input.
If getkss is -1, the output KSS file of the previous dataset must be taken, which is a frequently occuring case.
If getkss is a negative number, it indicates the number of datasets to go backward to find the needed file. In this case, if one refers to a non existent data set (prior to the first), the KSS file is not initialised from a disk file, so that it is as if getkss=0 for that initialisation.
NOTE : a negative value of a "get" variable indicates the number of datasets to go backwards; it is not the number to be subtracted from the current dataset to find the proper dataset. As an example :

ndtset 3   jdtset 1 2 4  getXXX -1
refers to dataset 2 when dataset 4 is initialized.




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables

getocc
Mnemonics: GET OCC parameters from ...
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter, an instance of a 'get' variable
Default is 0.

This variable is typically used to chain the calculations, in the multi-dataset mode (ndtset>0), since it describes from which dataset the array occ is to be taken, as input of the present dataset. The occupation numbers are EVOLVING variables, for which such a chain of calculations is useful.
If ==0, no use of previously computed values must occur.
If it is positive, its value gives the index of the dataset from which the data are to be used as input data. It must be the index of a dataset already computed in the SAME run.
If equal to -1, the output data of the previous dataset must be taken, which is a frequently occuring case. However, if the first dataset is treated, -1 is equivalent to 0, since no dataset has yet been computed in the same run.
If another negative number, it indicates the number of datasets to go backward to find the needed data (once again, going back beyond the first dataset is equivalent to using a null get variable).
NOTE that a non-zero getocc MUST be used with occopt==2, so that the number of bands has to be initialized for each k point. Of course, these numbers of bands must be identical with the numbers of bands of the dataset from which occ will be copied. The same is true for the number of k points.
NOTE : a negative value of a "get" variable indicates the number of datasets to go backwards; it is not the number to be subtracted from the current dataset to find the proper dataset. As an example :

ndtset 3   jdtset 1 2 4  getXXX -1
refers to dataset 2 when dataset 4 is initialized.




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables

getqps
Mnemonics: GET QuasiParticle Structure
Characteristic: GW
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.


Used when ndtset>0 (multi-dataset mode) and optdriver=3, or 4 (screening or sigma step of a GW calculation), to indicate that the eigenvalues and possibly the wavefunctions have to be taken from a previous quasiparticle calculation (instead of the usual LDA starting point). This is to achieve quasiparticle self-consistency. See also irdqps
NOTE : a negative value of a "get" variable indicates the number of datasets to go backwards; it is not the number to be subtracted from the current dataset to find the proper dataset. As an example :

ndtset 3   jdtset 1 2 4  getXXX -1
refers to dataset 2 when dataset 4 is initialized.




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables

getscr
Mnemonics: GET SCReening (the inverse dielectric matrix) from ...
Characteristic: GW
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

Used when ndtset>0 (multi-dataset mode) and optdriver=4 (sigma step of a GW calculation), to indicate that the dielectric matrix (_SCR file) is to be taken from the output of a previous dataset. It is used to chain the calculations, since it describes from which dataset the OUTPUT dielectric matrix is to be taken, as INPUT of the present dataset.
If getscr==0, no such use of previously computed output _SCR file is done.
If getscr is positive, its value gives the index of the dataset from which the output _SCR file is to be used as input.
If getscr is -1, the output _SCR file of the previous dataset must be taken, which is a frequently occuring case.
If getscr is a negative number, it indicates the number of datasets to go backward to find the needed file. In this case, if one refers to a non existent data set (prior to the first), the _SCR file is not initialised from a disk file, so that it is as if getscr=0 for that initialisation.
NOTE : a negative value of a "get" variable indicates the number of datasets to go backwards; it is not the number to be subtracted from the current dataset to find the proper dataset. As an example :

ndtset 3   jdtset 1 2 4  getXXX -1
refers to dataset 2 when dataset 4 is initialized.




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables

getsuscep
Mnemonics: GET SUSCEPtibility (the irreducible polarizability) from ...
Characteristic: GW
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

Used when ndtset>0 (multi-dataset mode) and optdriver=4 (sigma step of a GW calculation), to indicate that the irreducible polarizability (_SUSC file) is to be taken from the output of a previous dataset. It is used to chain the calculations, since it describes from which dataset the OUTPUT susceptibility is to be taken, as INPUT of the present dataset. Performing a GW calculations starting from the _SUSC file instead of the _SCR file presents the advantage that starting from the irreducible polarizability, one can calculate the screened interaction using different expressions without having to perform a screening calculation from scratch. For example, it is possible to apply a cutoff to the Coulomb interaction in order to facilitate the convergence of the GW correction with respect to the size of the supercell (see vcutgeo and icutcoul)
If getsuscep==0, no such use of previously computed output _SUSC file is done.
If getsuscep is positive, its value gives the index of the dataset from which the output _SUSC file is to be used as input.
If getsuscep is -1, the output _SUSC file of the previous dataset must be taken, which is a frequently occuring case.
If getsuscep is a negative number, it indicates the number of datasets to go backward to find the needed file. In this case, if one refers to a non existent data set (prior to the first), the _SUSC file is not initialised from a disk file, so that it is as if getsuscep=0 for that initialisation.
NOTE : a negative value of a "get" variable indicates the number of datasets to go backwards; it is not the number to be subtracted from the current dataset to find the proper dataset. As an example :

ndtset 3   jdtset 1 2 4  getXXX -1
refers to dataset 2 when dataset 4 is initialized.




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables

getwfk
Mnemonics: GET the wavefunctions from _WFK file


getwfq
Mnemonics: GET the wavefunctions from _WFQ file


get1wf
Mnemonics: GET the first-order wavefunctions from _1WF file


getddk
Mnemonics: GET the ddk wavefunctions from _1WF file
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

Eventually used when ndtset>0 (in the multi-dataset mode), to indicate starting wavefunctions, as an alternative to irdwfk, irdwfq, ird1wf, or irdddk. One should first read the explanations given for these latter variables.
The getwfk, getwfq, get1wf and getddk variables are typically used to chain the calculations in the multi-dataset mode, since they describe from which dataset the OUTPUT wavefunctions are to be taken, as INPUT wavefunctions of the present dataset.

We now focus on the getwfk input variable (the only one used in ground-state calculations), but the rules for getwfq and get1wf are similar, with _WFK replaced by _WFQ or _1WF.
If getwfk==0, no use of previously computed output wavefunction file appended with _DSx_WFK is done.
If getwfk is positive, its value gives the index of the dataset for which the output wavefunction file appended with _WFK must be used.
If getwfk is -1, the output wf file with _WFK of the previous dataset must be taken, which is a frequently occuring case.
If getwfk is a negative number, it indicates the number of datasets to go backward to find the needed wavefunction file. In this case, if one refers to a non existent data set (prior to the first), the wavefunctions are not initialised from a disk file, so that it is as if getwfk=0 for that initialisation. Thanks to this rule, the use of getwfk -1 is rather straightforward : except for the first wavefunctions, that are not initialized by reading a disk file, the output wavefunction of one dataset is input of the next one.
In the case of a ddk calculation in a multidataset run, in order to compute correctly the localisation tensor, it is mandatory to declare give getddk the value of the current dataset (i.e. getddk3 3 ) - this is a bit strange and should be changed in the future.
NOTE : a negative value of a "get" variable indicates the number of datasets to go backwards; it is not the number to be subtracted from the current dataset to find the proper dataset. As an example :

ndtset 3   jdtset 1 2 4  getXXX -1
refers to dataset 2 when dataset 4 is initialized.



Go to the top | Complete list of input variables

get1den
Mnemonics: GET the first-order density from _DEN file
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

Relevant only when optdriver=5. Indicate the files from which first-order densities must be obtained, in multi-dataset mode (in single dataset mode, use ird1den).
NOTE : a negative value of a "get" variable indicates the number of datasets to go backwards; it is not the number to be subtracted from the current dataset to find the proper dataset. As an example :

ndtset 3   jdtset 1 2 4  getXXX -1
refers to dataset 2 when dataset 4 is initialized.




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables

irdbscoup
Mnemonics: Integer that governs the ReaDing of COUPling block
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer
Default is 0.

Start the Bethe-Salpeter calculation from the BSC file containing the coupling block produced in a previous run.



Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



irdbseig
Mnemonics: Integer that governs the ReaDing of BS_EIG file
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer
Default is 0.

Start the Bethe-Salpeter calculation from the BS_EIG contining the exciton eigenvectors produced in a previous run.



Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



irdbsreso
Mnemonics: Integer that governs the ReaDing of RESOnant block
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer
Default is 0.

Start the Bethe-Salpeter calculation from the BSR file containing the resonat block produced in a previous run.



Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



irdhaydock
Mnemonics: Integer that governs the ReaDing of the HAYDOCK restart file
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer
Default is 0.

Used to re-start the Haydock iterative technique from the HAYDR_SAVE file produced in a previous run.



Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



irdden
Mnemonics: Integer that governs the ReaDing of DEN file


ird1den
Mnemonics: Integer that governs the ReaDing of 1st-order DEN file
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0 when iscf > 0, 1 when iscf < 0.

Ground state calculation: Start the ground-state calculation from the density file of a previous run. When iscf < 0, the reading of a DEN file is always enforced.

A non-zero value of irdden is treated in the same way as other "ird" variables, see the section 4 of abinit_help.

Response function calculation: If first order density is needed in single dataset mode (for example in nonlinear optical response), use ird1den to read first-order densities from _DENx files produced in other calculations. In multi-dataset mode use get1den.




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



irdkss
Mnemonics: Integer that governs the ReaDing of KSS file
Characteristic: GW
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

Relevant only when optdriver=3 or 4. Indicate the file from which the dielectric matrix must be obtained. As alternative, one can use the input variable getkss.
When optdriver=3 or 4, at least one of irdkss or getscr must be non-zero.

A non-zero value of irdkss is treated in the same way as other "ird" variables, see the section 4 of abinit_help.



Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



irdqps
Mnemonics: Integer that governs the ReaDing of QuasiParticle Structure
Characteristic: GW
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

Relevant only when optdriver=3 or 4. Indicate the file from which the eigenvalues and possibly the wavefunctions must be obtained, in order to achieve a self-consistent quasiparticle calculations. See also getqps



Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



irdscr
Mnemonics: Integer that governs the ReaDing of the SCReening
Characteristic: GW
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

Relevant only when optdriver=4. Indicate the file from which the dielectric matrix must be obtained. As alternative, one can use the input variable getscr.
When optdriver=4, at least one of irdscr or getscr (alternatively, irdsuscep or getsuscep) must be non-zero.

A non-zero value of irdscr is treated in the same way as other "ird" variables, see the section 4 of abinit_help.



Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



irdsuscep
Mnemonics: Integer that governs the ReaDing of the SUSCEPtibility
Characteristic: GW
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

Relevant only when optdriver=4. Indicate the file from which the irreducible polarizability must be obtained. As alternative, one can use the input variable getsuscep.
When optdriver=4, at least one of irdsuscep or getsuscep (alternatively, irdscr or getscr) must be non-zero.

A non-zero value of irdsuscep is treated in the same way as other "ird" variables, see the section 4 of abinit_help.



Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



irdwfk
Mnemonics: Integer that governs the ReaDing of _WFK files


irdwfq
Mnemonics: Integer that governs the ReaDing of _WFQ files


ird1wf
Mnemonics: Integer that governs the ReaDing of _1WF files


irdddk
Mnemonics: Integer that governs the ReaDing of DDK wavefunctions, in _1WF files
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

Indicates eventual starting wavefunctions. As alternative, one can use the input variables getwfk, getwfq, get1wf or getddk.

Ground-state calculation :

Response-function calculation :



Go to the top | Complete list of input variables

kssform
Mnemonics: Kohn Sham Structure file FORMat
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 1, i.e. the KSS format

Governs the choice of the format for the file that contains the Kohn-Sham electronic structure information, for use in GW calculations, see the input variables optdriver and nbandkss.

Very important : for the time being, istwfk must be 1 for all the k-points.





Go to the top | Complete list of input variables

mffmem
Mnemonics: Maximum number of FFt grids in MEMory
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 1, i.e. an in-core solution.

Governs the choice of number of FFT arrays that will be kept permanently in core memory.
The allowed values are 0, in which case maximal use is made of disk space, saving core memory at the expense of execution time (not much, usually), or 1, in which case everything is kept in core memory.
More detailed explanations : if mffmem==0, some arrays of size
double precision :: xx(nfft,nsppol)
will be saved on disk when the wavefunctions are optimized or when the Hartree and xc potential is computed (which can require some sizeable memory space also).
The number of these arrays is
5 if iscf==1,
3 if iscf==2 or 12,
4 if iscf==3 or 3,
6 if iscf==4 or 14,
10 if iscf==5,
(2+2*npulayit) if iscf==7 or 17.
The saving of memory can be appreciable especially when iscf==5, 7 ,17 and nsppol=2.




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



mkmem
Mnemonics: Maximum number of K - points in MEMory
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is nkpt, i.e. in-core solution.

Sets the maximum number of k points for which the ground state wavefunctions are kept in core memory at one time.
This value should either be 0, in which case an out-of-core solution will be used, or else nkpt, in which case an in-core solution will be used.
This input variable can be used during a GW calculation to reduce the memory allocated by each processor (presently only for optdriver=3). See also the related input variable gwpara.
Internal representation as mkmems(1)




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



prtcml
Mnemonics: PRinT CML file
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

If set to 1 or 2, provide output of geometrical parameters using CML (the Chemical Markup Language, see papers by P. Murray-Rust and H. Rzepa, especially J. Chem. Inf. Comput. Sci. 39, 928-942 (1998) and the Web site http://cml.sourceforge.net).
If prtcml==1, atomic positions are written in fractional coordinates (attributes 'xFract', 'yFract', and 'zFract').
If prtcml==2, atomic positions are written in cartesian coordinates (angstrom units, attributes 'x3', 'y3', and 'z3').
Such file can be treated automatically by tools developed to handle XML formatted files.

Such a CML file contains :


If ionmov==0, the name of the CML file will be the root output name, followed by _CML.xml .
If ionmov==1 or 2, the CML file will be output at each time step, with the name being made of
No output is provided by prtcml different from 1 or 2




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables

prtden
Mnemonics: PRinT the DENsity
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 1. (was 0 before v5.3), except when nimage>1

If set to 1 or a larger value , provide output of electron density in real space rho(r), in units of electrons/Bohr^3.
If ionmov==0, the name of the density file will be the root output name, followed by _DEN .
If ionmov==1 or 2, density files will be output at each time step, with the name being made of

The file structure of the unformatted output file is described below, see section 6).
If prtden is lower than 0, two files will be printed for restart every prtden step, with the names being made of Please note that in the case of PAW (usepaw=1) calculations, the _DEN density output is not the full physical electron density. If what is wanted is the full physical electron density, say for post-processing with AIM or visualization, prtden > 1 will produce physical electron density or other interesting quantites (see below). Nevertheless, even in the PAW case, when chaining together calculations where the density from one calculation is to be used in a subsequent calculation, it is necessary to use the _DEN files and not one of the other files produced with prtden > 1, i.e. _PAWDEN, ATMDEN_xxx or else. Note that the usual _DEN file is allways generated as soon as prtden >= 1. Options 2 to 6 for prtden are relevant only for usepaw=1 and control the output of the full electron density in the PAW case :

prtden=2 causes generation of a file _PAWDEN that contains the bulk valence charge density together with the PAW on-site contributions, and has the same format as the other density files.
prtden=3 causes generation of a file _PAWDEN that contains the bulk full charge density (valence+core)
prtden=4 causes generation of three files _ATMDEN_CORE, _ATMDEN_VAL and _ATMDEN_FULL which respectively contain the core, valence and full atomic protodensity (the density of the individual component atoms in vacuum superposed at the bulk atomic positions). This can be used to generate various visualizations of the bonding density.
prtden=5 options 2 and 4 taken together.
prtden=6 options 3 and 4 taken together.
prtden=7 causes the generation of all the individual contributions to the bulk valence charge density : n_tilde-n_hat (_N_TILDE), n_onsite (_N_ONE) and n_tilde_onsite (_NT_ONE). This is for diagnosis purposes only.

Options 3 to 6 currently require the user to supply the atomic core and valence density in external files in the working directory. The files must be named properly; for example, the files for an atom of type 1 should be named: "core_density_atom_type1.dat" and "valence_density_atom_type1.dat". The file should be a text file, where the first line is assumed to be a comment, and the subsequent lines contain two values each, where the first one is a radial coordinate and the second the value of the density n(r). Please note that it is n(r) which should be supplied, not n(r)/r^2. The first coordinate point must be the origin, i.e. r = 0. The atomic densities are spherically averaged, so assumed to be completely spherically symmetric, even for open shells.

NOTE: in the PAW case, DO NOT use _PAWDEN or _ATMDEN_xxx files produced by prtden > 1 to chain the density output from one calculation as the input to another, use the _DEN file for that.




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables

prtdos
Mnemonics: PRinT the Density Of States
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

Provide output of Density of States if set to 1, 2 or 3. Can either use a smearing technique (prtdos=1), or the tetrahedron method (prtdos=2). If prtdos=3, provide output of Local Density of States inside a sphere centered on an atom, as well as the angular-momentum projected DOS, in the same sphere. The resolution of the linear grid of energies for which the DOS is computed can be tuned thanks to dosdeltae.

If prtdos=1, the smeared density of states is obtained from the eigenvalues, properly weighted at each k point using wtk, and smeared according to occopt and tsmear. All levels that are present in the calculation are taken into account (occupied and unoccupied). Note that occopt must be between 3 and 7 .
In order to compute the DOS of an insulator with prtdos=1, compute its density thanks to a self-consistent calculation (with a non-metallic occopt value, 0, 1 or 2), then use prtdos=1, together with iscf=-3, and a metallic occopt, between 3 and 7, providing the needed smearing. If prtdos=1, the name of the DOS file is the root name for the output files, followed by "_DOS" .

If prtdos=2, the DOS is computed using the tetrahedron method. As in the case of prtdos=1, all levels that are present in the calculation are taken into account (occupied and unoccupied). In this case, the k-points must have been defined using the input variable ngkpt or the input variable kptrlatt. There must be at least two non-equivalent points in the Irreducible Brillouin Zone to use prtdos=2. It is strongly advised to use a non-shifted k-point grid (shiftk 0 0 0): such grids contain naturally more extremal points (band minima and maxima at Gamma or at the zone-boundaries) than shifted grids, and lead to more non-equivalent points than shifted grids, for the same grid spacing. There is no need to take care of the occopt or tsmear input variables, and there is no subtlety to be taken into account for insulators. The computation can be done in the self-consistent case as well as in the non-self-consistent case, using iscf=-3. This allows to refine the DOS at fixed starting density.
In that case, if ionmov==0, the name of the potential file will be the root output name, followed by _DOS (like in the prtdos=1 case).
However, if ionmov==1 or 2, potential files will be output at each time step, with the name being made of

If prtdos=3, the same tetrahedron method as for prtdos=2 is used, but the DOS inside a sphere centered on some atom is delivered, as well as the angular-momentum projected (l=0,1,2,3,4) DOS in the same sphere. The preparation of this case, the parameters under which the computation is to be done, and the file denomination is similar to the prtdos=2 case. However, three additional input variables might be provided, describing the atoms that are the center of the sphere (input variables natsph and iatsph), as well as the radius of this sphere (input variable ratsph).
In case of PAW, ratsph radius has to be greater or equal to largest PAW radius of the atom types considered (which is read from the PAW atomic data file; see rc_sph or r_paw). Additional printing and/or approximations in PAW mode can be controlled with pawprtdos keyword (in particular,pawprtdos=2 can be used to compute quickly a very good approximation of the DOS).

Note 1: when prtdos=3, it is possible to ouptut m-decomposed LDOS in _DOS file; simply use prtdosm keyword.
Note 2: the integrated total DOS in spheres around atoms can be obtained when prtdensph flag is activated. It can be compared to the integrated DOS provided in _DOS file when prtdos=3.

prtdos=4 is possible for testing purpose.



Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



prtdosm
Mnemonics: PRinT the Density Of States with M decomposition
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

Relevant only when prtdos=3.
If set to 1, the m-decomposed LDOS is delivered in DOS file.
Note that prtdosm computes the M-resolved partial dos for complex spherical harmonics,giving e.g. DOS(L,M) == DOS(L,-M) (without spin-orbit). In the contrary, the LDA+U occupation matrix, see dmatpawu is in the real spherical harmonics basis.
If set to 2, the m-decomposed LDOS is delivered in DOS file.
In this case, prtdosm computes the M-resolved partial dos for real spherical harmonics in the same basis as the LDA+U occupation matrix.




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



prteig
Mnemonics: PRinT EIGenenergies
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 1 (was 0 before v5.3), except when nimage>1

If set to 1, a file *_EIG, containing the k-points and one-electron eigenvalues is printed.



Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



prtelf
Mnemonics: PRinT Electron Localization Function (ELF)
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0

If set to 1 or a larger value, provide output of ELF in real space elf(r). This is a dimensionless quantity bounded between 0 and 1.
The name of the ELF file will be the root output name, followed by _ELF.
Like a _DEN file, it can be analyzed by cut3d. However unlike densities, in case of spin polarized calculations, the spin down component can not be obtained by substracting the spin up component to the total ELF. Hence when spin polarized calculations are performed the code produces also output files with _ELF_UP and _ELF_DOWN extensions. (For technical reasons these files contain also two components but the second is zero. So to perform analysis of _ELF_UP and _ELF_DOWN files with cut3d you have to answer "ispden= 0 ==> Total density" when cut3d ask you which ispden to choose. Also remember that spin down component can not be obtained by using cut3d on the _ELF file. Sorry for the inconvenience, this will be fixed in the next release.)
ELF is not yet implemented in non collinear spin case.
If prtelf is set to 2, in the case of spin polarized calculation, the total ELF is computed from an alternative approach which should better take into account the existence of spin dependent densities (see the documentation in /doc/theory/ELF of your ABINIT repository)

Please note that ELF is not yet implemented in the case of PAW (usepaw=1) calculations.




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



prtfsurf
Mnemonics: PRinT Fermi SURFace file
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

If set to 1, provide Fermi surface file in the BXSF format (Xcrysden) If prtfsurf=1, a _BXSF file readable by XCrySDen will be produced at the end of the calculation. The file contains information on the band structure of the system and can be used to visualize the Fermi surface or any other energy isosurface. prtfsurf=1 is compatible only with SCF calculations (iscf > 1) or NSCF runs in which the occupation factors and Fermi level are recalculated once convergence is achieved (iscf = -3). The two methods should produce the same Fermi surface provided that the k-meshes are sufficiently dense. The k-mesh used for the sampling of the Fermi surface can be specified using the standard variables ngkpt, (shiftk, and nshiftk. Note, however, that the mesh must be homogeneous and centered on gamma (multiple shifts are not supported by Xcrysden)



Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



prtgden
Mnemonics: PRinT the Gradient of electron DENsity
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

If set to 1 or a larger value, provide output of gradient of electron density in real space grho(r), in units of Bohr^-(5/2).
The names of the gradient of electron density files will be the root output name, followed by _GDEN1, _GDEN2, GDEN3 for each principal direction (indeed it is a vector).
Like a _DEN file, it can be analyzed by cut3d. The file structure of the unformatted output file is described below, see section 6).




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



prtgeo
Mnemonics: PRinT the GEOmetry analysis
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

If set to 1 or a larger value, provide output of geometrical analysis (bond lengths and bond angles). The value of prtgeo is taken by the code to be the maximum coordination number of atoms in the system.
It will deduce a maximum number of "nearest" and "next-nearest" neighbors accordingly , and compute corresponding bond lengths.
It will compute bond angles for the "nearest" neighbours only.
If ionmov==0, the name of the file will be the root output name, followed by _GEO .
If ionmov==1 or 2, one file will be output at each time step, with the name being made of

The content of the file should be rather self-explanatory.
No output is provided by prtgeo is lower than or equal to 0.
If prtgeo>0, the maximum number of atoms (natom) is 9999.




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables

prtgkk
Mnemonics: PRinT the GKK matrix elements file
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

If set to 1, provide output of electron-phonon "gkk" matrix elements, for further treatment by mrggkk utility or anaddb utility. Note that symmetry will be disabled for the calculation of the perturbation, forcing the inclusion of all k-points and all perturbation directions. Additional information on electron-phonon treatment in ABINIT is given in the tutorial ~abinit/doc/tutorial/lesson_eph.html and in ~abinit/doc/users/elphon_manual.ps



Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



prtkden
Mnemonics: PRinT the Kinetic energy DENsity
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

If set to 1 or a larger value , provide output of kinetic energy density in real space tau(r), in units of Bohr^-5.
The name of the kinetic energy density file will be the root output name, followed by _KDEN.
Like a _DEN file, it can be analyzed by cut3d. The file structure of the unformatted output file is described below, see section 6).
Note that the computation of the kinetic energy density must be activate, thanks to the input variable usekden.
Please note that kinetic energy density is not yet implemented in the case of PAW (usepaw=1) calculations.




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



prtkpt
Mnemonics: PRinT the K-PoinTs sets
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

If set /= 0 , proceeds to a detailed analysis of different k point grids. Works only if kptopt is positive, and neither kptrlatt nor ngkpt are defined. ABINIT will stop after this analysis.

Different sets of k point grids are defined, with common values of shiftk. In each set, ABINIT increases the length of vectors of the supercell (see kptrlatt) by integer steps. The different sets are labelled by "iset". For each k point grid, kptrlen and nkpt are computed (the latter always invoking kptopt=1, that is, full use of symmetries). A series is finished when the computed kptrlen is twice larger than the input variable kptrlen. After the examination of the different sets, ABINIT summarizes, for each nkpt, the best possible grid, that is, the one with the largest computed kptrlen.

Note that this analysis is also performed when prtkpt=0, as soon as neither kptrlatt nor ngkpt are defined. But, in this case, no analysis report is given, and the code selects the grid with the smaller ngkpt for the desired kptrlen. However, this analysis takes some times (well sometimes, it is only a few seconds - it depends on the value of the input kptrlen), and it is better to examine the full analysis for a given cell and set of symmetries, shiftk for all the production runs.



Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



prtlden
Mnemonics: PRinT the Laplacian of electron DENsity
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

If set to 1 or a larger value, provide output of Laplacian of electron density in real space grho(r), in units of Bohr^-(7/2).
The name of the Laplacian of electron density file will be the root output name, followed by _LDEN.
Like a _DEN file, it can be analyzed by cut3d. The file structure of the unformatted output file is described below, see section 6).




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



prtpot
Mnemonics: PRinT the iotal (kohn-sham)POTential


prtvha
Mnemonics: PRinT V_HArtree


prtvhxc
Mnemonics: PRinT V_(Hartree+XC)


prtvxc
Mnemonics: PRinT V_XC
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

If set >=1 , provide output of different potentials.
For prtpot, output the total (Kohn-Sham) potential, sum of local pseudo-potential, Hartree potential, and xc potential.
For prtvha, output the Hartree potential.
For prtvhxc, output the sum of Hartree potential and xc potential.
For prtvxc, output the exchange-correlation potential.

If ionmov==0, the name of the potential file will be the root output name, followed by _POT, _VHA, _VHXC, or _VXC .
If ionmov==1 or 2, potential files will be output at each time step, with the name being made of

The file structure of this unformatted output file is described in section 6.6 of abinit_help. No output is provided by a negative value of these variables.



Go to the top | Complete list of input variables

prtsuscep
Mnemonics: PRinT the SUSCEPtibility file (the irreducible polarizability)
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 1.

If set to 0, no _SUSC file will be produced after the screening calculation, only the _SCR file will be output.



Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



prtspcur
Mnemonics: PRinT the SPin CURrent density
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

If set to 1 or a larger value, provide output of the current density of different direction spins (x,y,z) in the whole unit cell. Should require spinorial wave functions nspinor = 2. Experimental: this does not work yet.



Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



prtstm
Mnemonics: PRinT the STM density
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

If set to 1 or a larger value, provide output of the electron density in real space rho(r), made only from the electrons close to the Fermi energy, in a range of energy (positive or negative), determined by the (positive or negative, but non-zero) value of the STM bias stmbias.
This is a very approximate way to obtain STM profiles : one can choose an equidensity surface, and consider that the STM tip will follow this surface. Such equidensity surface might be determined with the help of Cut3D, and further post-processing of it (to be implemented). The big approximations of this technique are : neglect of the finite size of the tip, and position-independent transfer matrix elements between the tip and the surface.
The charge density is provided in units of electrons/Bohr^3. The name of the STM density file will be the root output name, followed by _STM . Like a _DEN file, it can be analyzed by cut3d. The file structure of this unformatted output file is described in section 6.5 of abinit_help.
For the STM charge density to be generated, one must give, as an input file, the converged wavefunctions obtained from a previous run, at exactly the same k-points and cut-off energy, self-consistently determined, using the occupation numbers from occopt=7.
In the run with positive prtstm, one has to use :


Note that you might have to adjust the value of nband as well, for the treatment of unoccupied states, because the automatic determination of nband will often not include enough unoccupied states.
When prtstm is non-zero, the stress tensor is set to zero.
No output of _STM file is provided by prtstm lower or equal to 0.
No other printing variables for density or potentials should be activated (e.g. prtden has to be set to zero).




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables

prtvol
Mnemonics: PRinT VOLume
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

Control the volume of printed output.
Standard choice is 0. Positive values print more in the output and log files, while negative values are for debugging (or preprocessing only), and cause the code to stop at some point.

Debugging options : This debugging feature is not yet activated in the RF routines. Note that fftalg offers another option for debugging.




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables

prtvolimg
Mnemonics: PRinT VOLume for IMaGes
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

Control the volume of printed output when an algorithm using images of the cell is used (nimage>1).
When such an algorithm is activated, the printing volume (in output file) can be large and difficult to read.
Using prtvolimg=1, the printing volume, for each image, is reduced to unit cell, atomic positions, total energy, forces, stresses, velocities and convergence residuals.
Using prtvolimg=2, the printing volume, for each image, is reduced to total energy and convergence residuals only.




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



prtwant
Mnemonics: PRinT WANT file
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

Flag used to indicate that either the Wannier90 or the WanT interfaces will be used.





Go to the top | Complete list of input variables

prtwf
Mnemonics: PRinT the WaveFunction
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 1, except when nimage>1

If prtwf=1 , provide output of wavefunction and eigenvalue file, as described in section 6.7 of the main abinit help file.
For a standard ground-state calculation, the name of the wavefunction file will be the root output name, followed by _WFK. If nqpt=1, the root name will be followed by _WFQ. For response-function calculations, the root name will be followed by _1WFx, where x is the number of the perturbation. The dataset information will be added as well, if relevant.
No wavefunction output is provided by prtwf=0.


If prtwf=2, a file pwfn.data is produced, to be used as input for the CASINO QMC code. See more explanation at the end of this section.
If prtwf=3, the file that is created is nearly the same as with prtwf=1, except that the records that should contain the wavefunction is empty (so, such records exist, but store nothing). This is useful to generate size-reduced DDK files, to perform an optic run. Indeed, in the latter case, only matrix elements are needed [so, no wavefunction], but possibly a large number of conduction bands, so that the DDK file might be huge if it contains the wavefunctions.

Further explanation for the prtwf=2 case. To produce a wave function suitable for use as a CASINO trial wave function, certain ABINIT parameters must be set correctly. Primarily, CASINO (and QMC methods generally) can only take advantage of time-reversal symmetry, and not the full set of symmetries of the crystal structure. Therefore, ABINIT must be instructed to generate k-points not just in the Irreducible Brillouin Zone, but in a full half of the Brillouin Zone (using time-reversal symmetry to generate the other half). Additionally, unless instructed otherwise, Abinit avoids the need for internal storage of many of the coefficients of its wave functions for k-points that have the property 2k=G_latt, where G_latt is a reciprocal lattice vector, by making use of the property that c_k(G)=c^*_k(-G-G_latt). Abinit must be instructed not to do this in order to output the full set of coefficients for use in CASINO. See the ABINIT theoretical background documents ABINIT/Infos/Theory/geometry.pdf and ABINIT/Infos/Theory/1WF.pdf for more information.
The first of these requirements is met by setting the ABINIT input variable kptopt to 2 (see ABINIT/Infos/varbas.html#kptopt) and the second by setting istwfk to 1 for all the k points (see ABINIT/Infos/vardev.html#istwfk). Since CASINO is typically run with relatively small numbers of k-points, this is easily done by defining an array of 1's in the input file.
For example, for the 8 k-points generated with ngkpt 2 2 2, we add the following lines to the input file:

# Turn off special storage mode for time-reversal k-points
istwfk 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
# Use only time reversal symmetry, not full set of symmetries.
kptopt 2
Other useful input variables of relevance to the plane waves ABINIT will produce include ecut, nshiftk, shiftk, nband, occopt, occ, spinat and nsppol (see relevant input variable documents in ABINIT/Infos/). If ABINIT is run in multiple dataset mode, the different wave functions for the various datasets are exported as pwfn1.data, pwfn2.data, ..., pwfnn.data where the numbers are the contents of the contents of the input array jdtset (defaults to 1,2,...,ndtset).
Once the routine is incorporated into the ABINIT package it is anticipated that there will be an input variable to control whether or not a CASINO pwfn.data file is written.

Other issues related to prtwf=2.
The exporter does not currently work when ABINIT is used in parallel mode on multiple processors if k-point parallelism is chosen. ABINIT does not store the full wave function on each processor but rather splits the k-points between the processors, so no one processor could write out the whole file. Clearly this could be fixed but we haven't done it yet. The sort of plane wave DFT calculations usually required to generate QMC trial wave functions execute very rapidly anyway and will generally not require a parallel machines. The outqmc routine currently bails out with an error if this combination of modes is selected - this will hopefully be fixed later.
There has not been very extensive testing of less common situations such as different numbers of bands for different k-points, and more complicated spin polarized systems, so care should be taken when using the output in these circumstances.
If there is any doubt about the output of this routine, the first place to look is the log file produced by ABINIT: if there are any warnings about incorrectly normalized orbitals or non-integer occupation numbers there is probably something set wrong in the input file.




Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



prtxml
Mnemonics: PRinT an XML output
Characteristic:
Variable type: 0 or 1
Default is 0

Create an XML output with common values. The corresponding DTD is distributed in sources as extras/post_processing/abinitRun.dtd. All the DTD is not yet implemented and this one is currently restricted to ground computations (and derivative such as geometry optimisation).



Go to the top | Complete list of input variables



prt1dm
Mnemonics: PRinT 1-DiMensional potential and density
Characteristic:
Variable type: integer parameter
Default is 0.

If set >= 1, provide one-dimensional projection of potential and density, for each of the three axis. This corresponds to averaging the potential or the density on bi-dimensional slices of the FFT grid.



Go to the top | Complete list of input variables