Theoretical band structure calculation and superconductivity of NbC under pressure

Abstract

We report a theoretical calculation of the band structure and superconductivity of niobium carbide in the NaCl structure under pressure. The effect of pressure on the band structure is obtained by means of the self-consistent linear muffin-tin orbital method. The parameters necessary to calculate the superconducting transition temperature (T_c) are taken from our band structure results. The dependence of total energy on volume is calculated and is in good agreement with other earlier works. The calculated value of the cell parameter is in agreement with the experimental value (8.45 a.u). McMillan formula is used to calculate the value of T_c The calculated values of T_c are compared with the available experimental data.