Superconducting high pressure phase of germane

High-pressure structures of germane (GeH4) are explored through ab initio evolutionary methodology to reveal a metallic monoclinic structure of C2/c (4 molecules/cell). The C2/c structure consists of layerlike motifs containing novel "H2" units. Enthalpy calculations suggest a remarkably wide decomposition (Ge+H2) pressure range of 0-196 GPa, above which C2/c structure is stable. Perturbative linear-response calculations for C2/c GeH4 at 220 GPa predict a large electron-phonon coupling parameter lambda of 1.12 and the resulting superconducting critical temperature reaches 64 K.     

From E2g to other modes: effects of pressure on electron-phonon interaction in MgB2

We study the effects of pressure on the electron-phonon interaction in MgB2 using density-functional-based methods. Our results show that the superconductivity in MgB2 vanishes by 100 GPa, and then reappears at higher pressures. In particular, we find a superconducting transition temperature Tc approximately 2 K for mu*=0.1 at a pressure of 137 GPa.     

β-tin→Imma→sh phase transitions of germanium

New paths were designed for the investigations of the β-tin→Imma→sh phase transitions in nanocrystalline Ge under conditions of hydrostatic stress. A second-order transition between the β-tin and Imma phases was identified at 66 GPa, and a first-order transition between the Imma and sh phases was determined at 90 GPa. Superconductivity was obtained up to 190 GPa using the acquired structural data in first-principles calculations. This provides evidence that the standard electron-phonon coupling mechanism is responsible for superconductivity in Ge, as evidenced by the good agreement between the calculations and existing experiments.     

Pressure effects on the kinetic properties and phase transitions in lithium

The pressure dependences of the electrical resistance and thermal electromotive force of lithium were measured at room temperature. The results substantiated the occurrence of a phase transition caused by increasing pressure (6.7 GPa). A phase transition was detected when pressure was decreased (6.4 GPa). Temperature effects on the pressures of these transitions were studied near room temperature. At pressures above 4 GPa, the pressure dependences of thermal electromotive force and of the velocity of ultrasonic shear waves in BCC lithium exhibited anomalies. The suggestion was made that applying pressure increased the role played by electron-phonon and phonon-phonon interactions in lithium.     

High-pressure structures of disilane and their superconducting properties

A systematic ab initio search for low-enthalpy phases of disilane (Si2H6) at high pressures was performed based on the minima hopping method. We found a novel metallic phase of disilane with Cmcm symmetry, which is enthalpically more favorable than the recently proposed structures of disilane up to 280 GPa, but revealing compositional instability below 190 GPa. The Cmcm phase has a moderate electron-phonon coupling yielding a superconducting transition temperature T(c) of around 20 K at 100 GPa, decreasing to 13 K at 220 GPa. These values are significantly smaller than previously predicted T(c))s for disilane at equivalent pressure. This shows that similar but different crystalline structures of a material can result in dramatically different T(c)'s and stresses the need for a systematic search for a crystalline ground state.     

Lattice dynamics and superconductivity in cerium at high pressure

We have measured phonon dispersion relations of the high-pressure phase cerium-oC4 (α' phase with the α-uranium crystal structure) at 6.5 GPa by using inelastic x-ray scattering. Pronounced phonon anomalies are observed, which are remarkably similar to those of α-U. First-principles electronic structure calculations reproduce the anomalies and allow us to identify strong electron-phonon coupling as their origin. At the low-pressure end of its stability range, Ce-oC4 is on the verge of a lattice-dynamical instability and possibly a charge density wave. The superconducting transition temperatures of the fcc, oC4, and mC4 phases of Ce have been calculated, and the superconductivity observed experimentally by Wittig and Probst is attributed to the oC4 phase.     

Ab initio studies of superconductivity in monatomic metallic hydrogen under high pressure

A detailed study of the structural, electronic, dynamical, and superconducting properties in the monatomic metallic hydrogen is presented. At least up to 802 GPa, this phase is stable. Moreover, we find that a strong electron-phonon interaction drives a very high superconducting transition temperature TC≈291.40 K at 539 GPa.     

Uncovering a pressure-tuned electronic transition in Bi(1.98)Sr(2.06)Y(0.68)Cu(2)O(8+delta) using Raman scattering and x-ray diffraction

We report pressure-tuned Raman and x-ray diffraction data of Bi(1.98.)Sr(2.06)Y(0.68)Cu(2)O(8+delta) revealing a critical pressure at 21 GPa with anomalies in electronic Raman background, electron-phonon coupling lambda, spectral weight transfer, density dependent behavior of phonons and magnons, and a compressibility change in the c axis. For the first time in a cuprate, mobile charge carriers, lattice, and magnetism all show anomalies at a distinct critical pressure in the same experimental setting. Furthermore, the spectral changes suggest that the critical pressure at 21 GPa is related to the critical point at optimal doping.     

First-Principles Calculation of Lattice Dynamics of bcc and hcp Iron Under High Pressures

Lattice dynamics and electron-phonon coupling are calculated for non-magnetic hcp iron at 100 GPa by a first-principles linear response full-potential LMTO method. Superconducting transition temperature is estimated to be less than 0.5 K. For ferromagnetic bcc iron lattice dynamical calculations are performed for 9.8 GPa as well as for ambient pressure. The results of calculation reproduce well the pressure dependence of phonon dispersion curves observed by neutron scattering measurements.     

Charge-density wave and superconducting dome in TiSe2 from electron-phonon interaction

At low temperature TiSe2 undergoes a charge-density wave instability. Superconductivity is stabilized either by pressure or by Cu intercalation. We show that the pressure phase diagram of TiSe2 is well described by first-principles calculations. At pressures smaller than 4 GPa charge-density wave ordering occurs, in agreement with experiments. At larger pressures the disappearing of the charge-density wave is due to a stiffening of the short-range force constants and not to the variation of nesting with pressure. Finally, we show that the behavior of T(c) as a function of pressure is entirely determined by the electron-phonon interaction without need of invoking excitonic mechanisms. Our work demonstrates that phase diagrams with competing orders and a superconducting dome are also obtained in the framework of the electron-phonon interaction.     

Superconductivity in doped polyethylene at high pressure

In this work we study the pressure-dependent phase diagram of polyethylene (H₂C)_x from 50 to 200 GPa. Low-symmetry, organic polymeric phases, that are dynamically stable and thermodynamically competitive with elemental decomposition, are reported. Electronic structure calculations reveal that the band gap of the lowest energy polymeric phase decreases from 5.5 to 4.5 eV in the 50–200 GPa range, but metalization occurs only for pressures well above 500 GPa. The possibility of metalization via doping was also investigated, observing that it can be achieved through boron substitution at carbon sites. We report a sizable electron-phonon coupling (λ ? 0.79) in this metallic phase, with an estimated superconducting transition temperature of about 35 K. However, a rather narrow domain of stability is found; most of the dopant elements render the polymeric phases unstable and induce amorphization. This suggests that doping under pressure, though presenting an alternative route to find high temperature superconductors, would be challenging to achieve experimentally.     

Predicted superconductive properties of lithium under pressure

A superconducting state of lithium has not been found at ambient pressure, but the present theoretical work shows that high values of the critical temperature, T(c), may be expected for some high-pressure phases. Ab initio electronic structure calculations are used to calculate the electron-phonon coupling in a "rigid-muffin-tin approximation," and estimates using McMillan's formula suggest that under increasing pressure T(c) in fcc-Li may reach 50--70 K before transitions occur to the rhombohedral (hR1-Li) and subsequently to the cI16-Li phase near 40 GPa. In cI16-Li T(c) may reach a maximum in the range 60--80 K.     

Renormalization of the chemical potential due to multiphonon effects at the surface of metals

We study the relation between renormalization of the chemical potential due to multiphonon effects at the surface of Be(0001) and doping by solving the strong-coupling self-consistent equations of a two-dimensional(2D) electron-phonon interaction system.We present the quasiparticle dispersions and inverse lifetimes of a 2D electron system interacting with Einstein phonons under the different dopings(corresponding to chemical potentials).We find that the effect of electron-phonon interaction on electron structure is strongest at the half filling,but it has no effect on the chemical potential.However,the chemical potential shows distinct renormalization effects away from half filling due to the electron-phonon interaction.     

Pressure induced effects on the Fermi surface of superconducting 2H-NbSe2

The pressure dependence of the critical temperature T(c) and upper critical field H(c2)(T) has been measured up to 19 GPa in the layered superconducting material 2H-NbSe2. T(c)(P) has a maximum at 10.5 GPa, well above the pressure for the suppression of the charge density wave (CDW) order. Using an effective two-band model to fit H(c2)(T), we obtain the pressure dependence of the anisotropy in the electron-phonon coupling and Fermi velocities, which reveals the peculiar interplay between CDW order, Fermi surface complexity, and superconductivity in this system.     

压强对β胡萝卜素分子的电子-声子耦合常数的影响

电子-声子耦合常数不仅可以反映出分子中π电子离域程度的强弱, 有效共轭长度的大小, 同时也可以表征分子中的原子和电子在外界环境作用下的相互振动耦合程度的强弱。在一些研究中电子-声子耦合常数被定义为无量纲的系数。应用R.Tubino等引用的一种有量纲的电子-声子耦合常数, 建立其与黄昆因子的关系式, 进而可以计算出共轭键中单个振动模的数值。压强对多烯分子吸收光谱、拉曼光谱频移影响的研究已有报道, 但对拉曼散射截面、黄昆因子、电子-声子耦合常数的研究还没有报道。测量了β胡萝卜素分子在二硫化碳溶液中0.04～0.60 GPa的压强范围内的紫外-可见吸收光谱和共振拉曼光谱。实验结果表明, 随着压强的增加, CS₂溶液中的β胡萝卜素分子的紫外-可见吸收光谱的吸收带发生明显的红移现象, 而拉曼光谱的特征谱线却发生蓝移的现象, 拉曼散射截面减小, 电子-声子耦合常数增加。其机理是随着压强的增加, β胡萝卜素分子被压缩又结构有序性下降, 导致电子能隙变窄, 有效共轭长度变短, π电子离域范围减小, 拉曼散射截面减小, 黄昆因子、电子-声子耦合常数增加。     

Lattice dynamics of molybdenum at high pressure

We have determined the lattice dynamics of molybdenum at high pressure to 37 GPa using high-resolution inelastic x-ray scattering. Over the investigated pressure range, we find a significant decrease in the H-point phonon anomaly. We also present calculations based on density functional theory that accurately predict this pressure dependence. Based on these results, we infer that the likely explanation for the H-point anomaly in molybdenum is strong electron-phonon coupling, which decreases upon compression due to the shift of the Fermi level with respect to the relevant electronic bands.     

Phase transitions of YbX (X = P,As and Sb) with a NaCl-type structure at high pressures

The powder X-ray diffraction of YbX (X?=?P, As and Sb) with a NaCl-type structure has been studied with synchrotron radiation up to 63?GPa at room temperature. YbSb undergoes the first-order structural phase transition from the NaCl-type (B1) to the CsCl-type (B2) structure at around 13?GPa. The structural change to the B2 structure occurs with the volume collapse of about 1% at 13?GPa. The transition pressure of YbSb is surprisingly lower than that of any other heavier LnSb (Ln?=?Dy, Ho, Er, Tm and Lu). The pressure-induced phase transitions in YbP and YbAs are observed at around 51?GPa and 52?GPa respectively. The transition pressure of both compounds is much higher than that of YbSb. The high-pressure structural behaviour of YbX (X?=?P, As and Sb) is discussed. The volume versus pressure curve for YbX with the NaCl-type structure is fitted by a Birch equation of state. The bulk moduli of these compounds with the NaCl-type structure are 104?GPa for YbP, 85?GPa for YbAs and 52?GPa for YbSb.     

Superconductivity and lattice instability in compressed lithium from Fermi surface hot spots

The highest superconducting temperature Tc observed in any elemental metal (Li with Tc approximately 18-20 K at pressure 35-48 GPa) is shown to arise from increasingly strong electron-phonon coupling concentrated along intersections of Kohn anomaly surfaces with the evolving Fermi surface. First-principles linear response calculations of the phonon spectrum and spectral function alpha2F(omega) reveal very strong Q- and phonon-polarization dependence of coupling strength, resulting in values of in the observed range. The sharp momentum dependence of the coupling even for the simple Li Fermi surface indicates more generally that a fine Q mesh is required for precise evaluation of lamda.     

Ab initio prediction of superconductivity in molecular metallic hydrogen under high pressure

We present a first ab initio investigation of the electron-phonon coupling (EPC) of molecular metallic hydrogen with a Cmca structure based on the linear-response approach. This molecular metallic hydrogen with overlapping bands has an elastic instability at lower pressures (<300 GPa), but stabilizes dynamically under further compression as indicated by the absence of phonon softening, thus supporting the choice of Cmca structure as a good candidate for metallic hydrogen. Within the conventional BCS theory, the predicted critical temperature T_c is 107 K at 347 GPa, so indicating good candidacy for a high temperature superconductor. With increasing pressure, interestingly, the EPC parameter λ, hence, T_c increases, resulting from the increased electronic density of states at the Fermi level and EPC matrix element 〈I²〉, in spite of an enhanced average phonon frequency 〈ω²〉.     

微区Raman光谱在TiO_2高压结构相变研究中的应用

本文以金红石单晶TiO2和锐钛矿多晶TiO2为研究对象,应用金刚石小压机和原位拉曼光谱测量技术,系统研究了室温高压下TiO2的结构相变。原位拉曼测量表明,金红石单晶TiO2在压力达到12.91GPa时开始发生由金红石结构向斜锆石结构(MI)的相变,当压力达到14.16 GPa时,相变完成;继续加压到21.65 GPa,没有发现进一步的相变;卸压时由斜锆石结构转变为PbO2结构,相变发生在大约7.11 GPa处。锐钛矿多晶TiO2在压力达到4.26 GPa时开始向PbO2结构转变,当压力达到8.34 GPa时相变完成;继续加压到12.94 GPa,样品开始发生由PbO2结构向斜锆石结构的相变,当压力达到18.74 GPa时相变完成;继续加压到21.39 GPa,没有发现进一步的相变;卸压时也由斜锆石结构转变为PbO2结构,起始相变压力点应高于8 GPa。