Quasiparticle bandstructure effects on the {\it d} hole lifetimes of copper within the GW approximation

Abstract

We investigate the lifetime of {\it d} holes in copper within a {\it first--principle} $GW$ approximation. At the $G_0W_0$ level the lifetime of the topmost {\it d} bands are in agreement with the experimental results and are four times smaller than those obtained in the ``on--shell'' calculations commonly used in literature. The theoretical lifetimes and bandstructure, however, worsen when further iterative steps of self-consistency are included in the calculation, pointing to a delicate interplay between self--consistency and the inclusion of vertex corrections. We show that the $G_0W_0$ success in the lifetimes calculation is due to the opening of new ``intraband'' decay channels that disappear at self--consistency.