Phase transition in CeSe, EuSe and LaSe under high pressure

The high pressure phase transition and elastic behavior of rare earth monoselenides (CeSe, EuSe and LaSe) which crystallize in a NaCl-structure have been investigated using the three body interaction potential (TBIP) approach. These interactions arise due to the electronshell deformation of the overlapping ions in crystals. The TBP model consists of a long range Coulomb, three body interactions and the short range overlap repulsive forces operative up to the second neighboring ions. The authors of this paper estimated the values of the phase transition pressure and the associated volume collapse to be closer than other calculations. Thus, the TBIP approach also promises to predict the phase transition pressure and pressure variations of elastic constants of lanthanide compounds.