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Strange Fermi energy for gapped states #338

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@tsuyoshi38

We usually assume that the Fermi energy (used in DOS plot) for gapped states is set as the middle of valence band top and conduction band bottom. But, it is not like that in some cases. See the attached input files provided by Timothee.
In this case, Fermi energy can be either the valence band top or the conduction band bottom.

I wonder lower and higher bounds in findFermi_varspin can be almost the same, in Fermi-Dirac distribution function depending on the value of tolElec. But, I have not tried it yet. (I also worry that the long tail in Fermi-Dirac function might cause a problem.)
Input_issue_Fermi_energy.zip

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  1. davidbowler commented on Aug 20, 2026

    @davidbowler
    Contributor

    This is mainly caused by using the Methfessel-Paxton smearing (Diag.SmearingType 1) - if you change to Fermi-Dirac then the placement is more reasonable. It is also fixed by #470 for systems with a gap.

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