56 research outputs found
Phase Boundaries, Isotope Effect and Superconductivity of Lithium Under Hydrostatic Conditions
We present theoretical and experimental studies of superconductivity and low
temperature structural phase boundaries in lithium. We mapped the structural
phase diagram of 6Li and 7Li under hydrostatic conditions between 5 top 55GPa
and within the temperature range of 15 to 75K, observing the FCC-hR1-cI16 phase
transitions. 6Li and 7Li show some differences at the structural boundaries,
with a potential shift of the phase boundaries of 6Li to lower pressures.
Density functional theory calculations and topological analysis of the electron
density elucidates the superconducting properties and interatomic interactions
within these phases of lithium.Comment: (24 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables, 2 parts including main manuscript
and the supplementary information section
Dependence of the Superconducting Transition Temperature of MgB2 on Pressure to 20 GPa
The dependence of Tc on nearly hydrostatic pressure has been measured for an
isotopically pure (11B) MgB2 sample in a helium-loaded diamond-anvil-cell to
nearly 20 GPa. Tc decreases monotonically with pressure from 39.1 K at ambient
pressure to 20.9 K at 19.2 GPa. The initial dependence is the same as that
obtained earlier (dTc/dP = -1.11(2) K/GPa) on the same sample in a He-gas
apparatus to 0.7 GPa. The observed pressure dependence Tc(P) to 20 GPa can be
readily described in terms of simple lattice stiffening within standard
phonon-mediated BCS superconductivity.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure
Studies on the Weak Itinerant Ferromagnet SrRuO3 under High Pressure to 34 GPa
The dependence of the Curie temperature Tc on nearly hydrostatic pressure has
been determined to 17.2 GPa for the weak itinerant ferromagnetic SrRuO3 in both
polycrystalline and single-crystalline form. Tc is found to decrease under
pressure from 162 K to 42.7 K at 17.2 GPa in nearly linear fashion at the rate
dTc/dP = -6.8 K/GPa. No superconductivity was found above 4 K in the pressure
range 17 to 34 GPa. Room-temperature X-ray diffraction studies to 25.3 GPa
reveal no structural phase transition but indicate that the average Ru-O-Ru
bond angle passes through a minimum near 15 GPa. The bulk modulus and its
pressure derivative were determined to be B =192(3) GPa and B' = 5.0(3),
respectively. Parallel ac susceptibility studies on polycrystalline CaRuO3 at 6
and 8 GPa pressure found no evidence for either ferromagnetism or
superconductivity above 4 K
Pressure dependence of the upper critical field of MgB2 and of YNi2B2C
We present measurements of H under pressure in MgB and in
YNiBC. The changes in the shape of H are interpreted within
current models and show the evolution of the main Fermi surface velocities
and electron-phonon coupling parameters with pressure. In
MgB the electron-phonon coupling strength of the nearly two dimensional
band, responsible for the high critical temperature, is more affected
by pressure than the band coupling, and the hole doping of the
band decreases. In YNiBC, the peculiar positive curvature of
H is weakened by pressure.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Thermodynamics of the superconducting state in Calcium at 200 GPa
The thermodynamic parameters of the superconducting state in Calcium under
the pressure at 200 GPa were calculated. The Coulomb pseudopotential values
() from 0.1 to 0.3 were taken into consideration. It has been
shown, that the specific heat's jump at the critical temperature and the
thermodynamic critical field near zero Kelvin strongly decrease with
. The dimensionless ratios and
significantly differ from the predictions based on the BCS model. In
particular, decreases from 2.64 to 1.97 with the Coulomb
pseudopotential; whereas increases from 0.140 to 0.157. The numerical
results have been supplemented by the analytical approach.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
Transparent dense sodium
Under pressure, metals exhibit increasingly shorter interatomic distances.
Intuitively, this response is expected to be accompanied by an increase in the
widths of the valence and conduction bands and hence a more pronounced
free-electron-like behaviour. But at the densities that can now be achieved
experimentally, compression can be so substantial that core electrons overlap.
This effect dramatically alters electronic properties from those typically
associated with simple free-electron metals such as lithium and sodium, leading
in turn to structurally complex phases and superconductivity with a high
critical temperature. But the most intriguing prediction - that the seemingly
simple metals Li and Na will transform under pressure into insulating states,
owing to pairing of alkali atoms - has yet to be experimentally confirmed. Here
we report experimental observations of a pressure-induced transformation of Na
into an optically transparent phase at 200 GPa (corresponding to 5.0-fold
compression). Experimental and computational data identify the new phase as a
wide bandgap dielectric with a six-coordinated, highly distorted
double-hexagonal close-packed structure. We attribute the emergence of this
dense insulating state not to atom pairing, but to p-d hybridizations of
valence electrons and their repulsion by core electrons into the lattice
interstices. We expect that such insulating states may also form in other
elements and compounds when compression is sufficiently strong that atomic
cores start to overlap strongly.Comment: Published in Nature 458, 182-185 (2009
Assembling the puzzle of superconducting elements: A Review
Superconductivity in the simple elements is of both technological relevance
and fundamental scientific interest in the investigation of superconductivity
phenomena. Recent advances in the instrumentation of physics under pressure
have enabled the observation of superconductivity in many elements not
previously known to superconduct, and at steadily increasing temperatures. This
article offers a review of the state of the art in the superconductivity of
elements, highlighting underlying correlations and general trends.Comment: Review, 10 pages, 11 figures, 97 references; to appear in Superc.
Sci. Techno
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