Local properties of the electronic structure of cubic SrTiO3, BaTiO3 and PbTiO3 crystals, analysed using Wannier-type atomic functions

The electronic structure of the cubic perovskites SrTiO3, BaTiO3 and PbTiO3 is calculated by Hartree–Fock and density functional theory methods. Wannier-type atomic orbitals (WTAOs) are obtained from symmetrized combinations of Bloch states of some occupied and vacant bands by a variational method. Population analysis, based on the WTAOs, attributes a mixed ionic-covalent type of bonding with partly covalent Ti–O bonds to the perovskites under study. The atomic charges thus calculated are then compared to those obtained by the traditional Mulliken population analysis.