Title: Ab initio tight-binding Models for Mono- and Bilayer Hexagonal Boron Nitride (h-BN)

Abstract: We provide effective tight-binding models of monolayer and bilayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) informed by ab initio density functional theory calculations within the local density approximation using maximally localized Wannier functions centered at the boron and nitrogen sites. An effective intra-layer tight-binding model with up to four distant hopping neighbors captures the band energies near the K-point and M-point in the Brillouin zone, including the indirect nature of the band gap for certain stackings. We then propose a two-center interlayer tight-binding model that can be used for any stacking in bilayer h-BN based on the relative distance between two atomic sites which can be used to model twisted h-BN structures.