  In Density Functional Theory simulations based on the LAPW method, each
self-consistent field cycle comprises dozens of large dense generalized
eigenproblems. In contrast to real-space methods, eigenpairs solving for
problems at distinct cycles have either been believed to be independent or at
most very loosely connected. In a recent study [7], it was demonstrated that,
contrary to belief, successive eigenproblems in a sequence are strongly
correlated with one another. In particular, by monitoring the subspace angles
between eigenvectors of successive eigenproblems, it was shown that these
angles decrease noticeably after the first few iterations and become close to
collinear. This last result suggests that we can manipulate the eigenvectors,
solving for a specific eigenproblem in a sequence, as an approximate solution
for the following eigenproblem. In this work we present results that are in
line with this intuition. We provide numerical examples where opportunely
selected block iterative eigensolvers benefit from the reuse of eigenvectors by
achieving a substantial speed-up. The results presented will eventually open
the way to a widespread use of block iterative eigensolvers in ab initio
electronic structure codes based on the LAPW approach.
