First-principles calculation of the electron dynamics in crystalline SiO2

We present a first-principles description for electron dynamics in crystalline SiO 2 induced by an optical field in both weak and intense regimes. We rely upon the time-dependent density-functional theory with the adiabatic local-density approximation, and a real-space and real-time method is employed to solve the time-dependent Kohn–Sham equation. The response calculation to a weak field provides us with information on the dielectric function, while the response to an intense field shows the optical dielectric breakdown. We discuss the critical threshold for the dielectric breakdown of crystalline SiO 2 , in comparison with the results for diamond.