Optical properties of lowest-energy carbon allotropes from first-principles calculations

We study optical properties of lowest-energy carbon allotropes in the infrared, visible and ultraviolet spectral ranges in the general gradient approximation of the density functional theory. In our calculations we use an all-electron approach as well as a pseudo-potential approximation. In the infrared range, complex dielectric functions, infrared and Raman spectra have been calculated using a CRYSTAL14 program. Electronic properties and energy-dependent dielectric functions in the visible and ultraviolet spectral ranges are calculated using a VASP program. We describe with good accuracy the experimentally known optical properties of a cubic diamond crystal. Using the obtained set of relevant calculation parameters, we predict the optical constants, dielectric functions and Raman spectra of the lowest-energy hypothetical carbon allotropes and lonsdaleite.