How to analyse a density of states

Abstract

The density of states of electrons is a simple, yet highly-informative, summary of the electronic structure of a material. Here, some remarkable features of the electronic structure that are perceptible from the density of states are concisely reviewed, notably the analytical $E$ vs. $k$ dispersion relation near the band edges, effective mass, Van Hove singularities, and the effective dimensionality of the electrons, all of which have a strong influence on physical properties of materials. We emphasize that appropriate parameters in electronic structure calculations are necessary to obtain even a sufficient-quality density of states exhibiting fine features of the electronic structure.