Superconductivity and crystal structure of ternary CuxMo3S4 compounds with 0 ≤ x ≤ 1 prepared by anodic oxidation of Cu1.0Mo3S4

Superconductivity and crystal structure data are reported for a series of ternary Cu_xMo₃S₄ samples with 0 ≤ x ≤ 1 which were prepared by anodic oxidation of Cu_1.0Mo₃S₄. A phase with the composition Cu_0.5Mo₃S₄ was found to have rhombohedral lattice parameters $\text{a}{}_{\mathrm{R}}\text{= 6.447(5)}\text{A}\text{?}$ and α_R = 93.74(4) ° and a superconducting critical temperature T_c = 5.8 K. The dependence of T_c on pressure for Cu_0.5Mo₃S₄ has been measured between 0 and 19 kbar.     

Superconductivity in Li OHFe S single crystals with a shrunk c-axis lattice constant

By using a hydrothermal ion-exchange method, we have successfully grown superconducting crystals of Li OHFe S with Tcof about 2.8 K. Being different from the sister sample(Li1-xFex)OHFe Se, the energy dispersion spectrum analysis on Li OHFe S shows that the Fe/S ratio is very close to 1:1, suggesting an almost charge neutrality and less electron doping in the Fe S planes of the system. Comparing with the non superconducting Li OHFe S crystal, each peak of the X-ray diffraction pattern of the superconducting crystal splits into two, and the diffraction peaks locating at lower reflection angles are consistent with that of non-superconducting ones. The rest set of diffraction peaks with higher reflection angles is corresponding to the superconducting phase, suggesting that the superconducting phase may has a shrunk c-axis lattice constant. Magnetization measurements indicate that the magnetic shielding due to superconductivity can be quite high under a weak magnetic field. The resistivity measurements under various magnetic fields show that the upper critical field is quite low, which is similar to the tetragonal Fe S superconductor.     

High T c,structural instabilities and electronic properties of Nb3Ge

Abstract

A number of Nb₃Ge samples with rather high T _c,on (T _c,on ? 22.5 K) were prepared by CVD and characterized by the electrical resistance, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope patterns. It was found that the crystal growth patterns are roughly divided into two categories, (i) a particles-pattern in a nearly single phase of Nb₃Ge and (ii) a network pattern with a fairly large amount of the Nb₅Ge₃ phase but with rather a large resistance ratio and a small resistivity at T ? T _c,on. The latter type of samples shows generally higher T _c,on. It is deduced that the origin of high T _c,on comes mainly from a deformation of the atomic potential at the Nb-site into an anharmonic and rather unstable shape due to the coexistence of the Nb₅Ge₃ phase. The mechanism of the formation of different patterns is discussed on the basis of the theory of non-equilibrium thermodynamics of Prigogine.     

On the lattice instabilities in Chevrel phases

X-Ray diffraction measurements on single crystals of rhombohedral M_xMo₆S₈ compounds (M = Cu, Ag, In, Sn, Gd, La), yield evidence for a systematic delocalisation of the cation M from the inversion centre. The delocalisation is proportional to the rhombohedral angle, but is not a simple function of the ionic radii as tabulated for M. It is suggested that this effect is temperature dependent and responsible for the occurence of lattice instabilities in the Chevrel phases. A possible correlation between delocalisation and superconductivity is discussed.     

Superconductivity and electronic specific heat in V-Mo system

The parameters of superconductivity and specific heat are determined from the low temperature specific heat measurements of V_(1−x)Mo_x (0 ⩽ x ⩽ 1) solid solutions. The coefficient of electronic specific heat γ decreases with increasing Mo concentration and shows a minimum around 80 at. %Mo. Debye temperature θ_D varies slightly over the whole composition range. The superconducting transition temperature T_c also decreases with increasing Mo concentration. The variation of T_c is explained by the variation of γ and discussed in terms of the band structure.     

Resonances, instabilities, and structure selection of driven josephson lattice in layered superconductors

We investigate the dynamics of the Josephson vortex lattice in layered high- T(c) superconductors at high magnetic fields. It is shown that the average electric current depends on the lattice structure and is resonantly enhanced when the Josephson frequency matches the frequency of the plasma mode. We find the stability regions of a moving lattice. It is shown that a specific lattice structure at a given velocity is uniquely selected by the boundary conditions; at small velocities a periodic triangular lattice is stable and looses its stability at some critical velocity. At even higher velocities, a structure close to a rectangular lattice is restored.     

Standing wave instabilities, breather formation and thermalization in a Hamiltonian anharmonic lattice

Modulational instability of travelling plane waves is often considered as the first step in the formation of intrinsically localized modes (discrete breathers) in anharmonic lattices. Here, we consider an alternative mechanism for breather formation, originating in oscillatory instabilities of spatially periodic or quasiperiodic nonlinear standing waves (SWs). These SWs are constructed for Klein-Gordon or Discrete Nonlinear Schr?dinger lattices as exact time periodic and time reversible multibreather solutions from the limit of uncoupled oscillators, and merge into harmonic SWs in the small-amplitude limit. Approaching the linear limit, all SWs with nontrivial wave vectors (0 < Q < π) become unstable through oscillatory instabilities, persisting for arbitrarily small amplitudes in infinite lattices. The dynamics resulting from these instabilities is found to be qualitatively different for wave vectors smaller than or larger than π/2, respectively. In one regime persisting breathers are found, while in the other regime the system thermalizes. Received 6 October 2001 / Received in final form 1st March 2002 Published online 2 October 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: mjn@ifm.liu.se     

Kinetics and morphological instabilities of stressed solid-solid phase transformations

An atomistic model of the growth kinetics of stressed solid-solid phase transformations is presented. Solid phase epitaxial growth of (001) Si was used for comparison of new and prior models with experiments. The results indicate that the migration of crystal island ledges in the growth interface may involve coordinated atomic motion. The model accounts for morphological instabilities during stressed solid-solid phase transformations.     

The B-quadrilateral lattice,its transformations and the algebro-geometric construction

The B-quadrilateral lattice (BQL) provides geometric interpretation of Miwa’s discrete BKP equation within the quadrialteral lattice (QL) theory. After discussing the projective-geometric properties of the lattice we give the algebro-geometric construction of the BQL emphasizing the role of Prym varieties and the corresponding theta functions. We also present the reduction of the vectorial fundamental transformation of the QL to the BQL case.     

Investigations of structural,electronic, mechanical and lattice dynamic properties of TiRu3 and TiOs3 compounds

Ab initio calculations of structural, electronic, elastic, and phonon properties of TiRu₃ and TiOs₃ compounds have been studied using the density functional theory (DFT) within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). The basic structural properties such as lattice constants, bulk modulus and pressure derivative of bulk modulus of these compounds were studied and compared with the previous theoretical data. Electronic band structures and partial densities of states for TiRu₃ and TiOs₃ compounds were computed and analyzed. The electronic band calculations showed that the TiRu₃ and TiOs₃ compounds have metallic nature. Phonon spectra, their total and projected densities of states for these compounds were computed by using a linear-response method in the framework of the density functional perturbation theory. The specific heat capacities at a constant volume C_V and Debye temperature of TiCr₃ and TiOs₃ compounds were also calculated and discussed.     

Nonlinear structures and thermodynamic instabilities in a one-dimensional lattice system

The equilibrium states of the discrete Peyrard-Bishop Hamiltonian with one end fixed are computed exactly from the two-dimensional nonlinear Morse map. These exact nonlinear structures are interpreted as domain walls, interpolating between bound and unbound segments of the chain. Their free energy is calculated to leading order beyond the Gaussian approximation. Thermodynamic instabilities (e.g., DNA unzipping and/or thermal denaturation) can be understood in terms of domain wall formation.     

Strain-regulated electronic structure for hydrogen evolution reaction in Fe3S4 monolayer

Electrochemical water splitting to generate hydrogen could be an important part of future renewable energy, but faces challenge due to the scarcity of effective earth-abundant electrocatalysts and insufficient understanding of catalytic mechanism. Herein, we predicated strain-induced changes in electronic structure and catalytic performance of low-cost two-dimensional Fe₃S₄ material. The calculations disclose that the half-metallic feature evolves into metallicity under applied external strain, which makes Gibbs adsorption free energy of hydrogen close to zero. Different from traditional doping and defecting strategies, this work demonstrates that excellent catalytic activity for water splitting can be achieved by inducing a small lattice deformation in Fe₃S₄ monolayer. Our findings provide new inspirations for the steering of electronic structure and designing of new-type catalysts.     

Saturation of the resistivity in metals with lattice instabilities

We correlate s-shape resistivity in A-15, C-15 and charge density wave compounds with structural instabilities. We propose that the exponential term of the resistivity is caused by the scattering against thermally excited molecular states. We show that this interpretation is supported by a large number of experimental data and naturally explains the apparent violation of Mathiessen's rule in irradiation experiments. Connections with recent theoretical developments on strong electron-phonon coupling are discussed.     

Planar oxygen-centered lattice instabilities in Tl-based high- temperature superconductors

Analysis of the copper K-edge X-ray absorption finestructure on Tl₂Ba₂CuO₆, Tl₂Ba₂CaCu₂O₈, and Tl₂Ba_1.2Sr_0.8 CuO₆ indicates that the copper-equatorial oxygen local structure changes in the vicinity of the superconducting transition. These data also show that the radial distribution function for these bonds is complex with several oxygen positions relative to the copper, indicating that the local structure of the CuO₂ planes differs significantly from the average crystal structure. These results suggest the presence of polarons in these planes, whose structure changes across the superconducting transition, and are thus coupled to the hole pairing states.     

Bogoliubov transformations and fermion condensates in lattice field theories

We apply generalized Bogoliubov transformations to the transfer matrix of relativistic field theories regularized on a lattice. We derive the conditions these transformations must satisfy to factorize the transfer matrix into two terms which propagate fermions and antifermions separately, and we solve the relative equations under some conditions. We relate these equations to the saddle point approximation of a recent bosonization method and to the Foldy-Wouthuysen transformations which separate positive from negative energy states in the Dirac Hamiltonian.     

Superconductivity mediated by the lattice fluctuations in the polaron system

The coupling between the charge transfer and the lattice fluctuations is proposed as a possible mechanism of the superconductivity in the polaron system near the cross-over from the quasi-localized to the delocalized regime. The corresponding self-energy matrix is deduced using the Holstein Hamiltonian and the equations for the off-diagonal order are formulated. The lower bound on the superconducting critical temperature is estimated and the possible relevance of the proposed mechanism for the superconducting copper oxides is discussed.