LOCAL ANALYSIS VIA THE REAL-SPACE GREENS-FUNCTION METHOD

A complete account of the development of the method of real space Green's function is given in this review. The emphasis is placed on the calculation of the local Green's function in a real space representation. The discussion is centered on a list of issues particularly relevant to the study of properties of complex systems with reduced symmetry. They include: (i) the convergence procedure for calculating the local Green's function of infinite systems without any boundary effects associated with an arbitrary truncation of the system; (ii) a general recursive relation which streamlines the calculation of the local Green's function; (iii) the calculation of the eigenvector of selected eigenvalues directly from the Green's function. An example of the application of the method to carry out a local analysis of dynamics of the Au(511) surface is also presented.