259 research outputs found
Semimetallic molecular hydrogen at pressure above 350 GPa
According to the theoretical predictions, insulating molecular hydrogen
dissociates and transforms to an atomic metal at pressures P~370-500 GPa. In
another scenario, the metallization first occurs in the 250-500 GPa pressure
range in molecular hydrogen through overlapping of electronic bands. The
calculations are not accurate enough to predict which option is realized. Here
we show that at a pressure of ~360 GPa and temperatures <200 K the hydrogen
starts to conduct, and that temperature dependence of the electrical
conductivity is typical of a semimetal. The conductivity, measured up to 440
GPa, increases strongly with pressure. Raman spectra, measured up to 480 GPa,
indicate that hydrogen remains a molecular solid at pressures up to 440 GPa,
while at higher pressures the Raman signal vanishes, likely indicating further
transformation to a good molecular metal or to an atomic state
Magnetic measurements at pressures above 10 GPa in a miniature ceramic anvil cell for a superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer
A miniature ceramic anvil high pressure cell (mCAC) was earlier designed by
us for magnetic measurements at pressures up to 7.6 GPa in a commercial
superconducting quantum interference (SQUID) magnetometer [N. Tateiwa et al.,
Rev. Sci. Instrum. 82, 053906 (2011)]. Here, we describe methods to generate
pressures above 10 GPa in the mCAC. The efficiency of the pressure generation
is sharply improved when the Cu-Be gasket is sufficiently preindented. The
maximum pressure for the 0.6 mm culet anvils is 12.6 GPa when the Cu-Be gasket
is preindented from the initial thickness of 0.30 to 0.06 mm. The 0.5 mm culet
anvils were also tested with a rhenium gasket. The maximum pressure attainable
in the mCAC is about 13 GPa. The present cell was used to study YbCu2Si2 which
shows a pressure induced transition from the non-magnetic to magnetic phases at
8 GPa. We confirm a ferromagnetic transition from the dc magnetization
measurement at high pressure. The mCAC can detect the ferromagnetic ordered
state whose spontaneous magnetic moment is smaller than 1 mB per unit cell. The
high sensitivity for magnetic measurements in the mCAC may result from the the
simplicity of cell structure. The present study shows the availability of the
mCAC for precise magnetic measurements at pressures above 10 GPa
Low temperature phase diagram of hydrogen at pressures up to 380 GPa. A possible metallic phase at 360 GPa and 200 K
Two new phases of hydrogen have been discovered at room temperature in Ref.1:
phase IV above 220 GPa and phase V above ~270 GPa. In the present work we have
found a new phase VI at P~360 GPa and T<200 K. This phase is likely metallic as
follows from the featureless Raman spectra, a strong drop in resistance, and
absence of a photoconductive response. We studied hydrogen at low temperatures
with the aid of Raman, infrared absorption, and electrical measurements at
pressures up to 380 GPa, and have built a new phase diagram of hydrogen.Comment: 9 pages, 12 figure
Equation of state of cubic boron nitride at high pressures and temperatures
We report accurate measurements of the equation of state (EOS) of cubic boron
nitride by x-ray diffraction up to 160 GPa at 295 K and 80 GPa in the range
500-900 K. Experiments were performed on single-crystals embedded in a
quasi-hydrostatic pressure medium (helium or neon). Comparison between the
present EOS data at 295 K and literature allows us to critically review the
recent calibrations of the ruby standard. The full P-V-T data set can be
represented by a Mie-Gr\"{u}neisen model, which enables us to extract all
relevant thermodynamic parameters: bulk modulus and its first
pressure-derivative, thermal expansion coefficient, thermal Gr\"{u}neisen
parameter and its volume dependence. This equation of state is used to
determine the isothermal Gr\"{u}neisen mode parameter of the Raman TO band. A
new formulation of the pressure scale based on this Raman mode, using
physically-constrained parameters, is deduced.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
Conventional superconductivity at 203 K at high pressures
A superconductor is a material that can conduct electricity with no
resistance below its critical temperature (Tc). The highest Tc that has been
achieved in cuprates1 is 133 K at ambient pressure2 and 164 K at high
pressures3. As the nature of superconductivity in these materials has still not
been explained, the prospects for a higher Tc are not clear. In contrast, the
Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory gives a guide for achieving high Tc and
does not put bounds on Tc, all that is needed is a favorable combination of
high frequency phonons, strong electron-phonon coupling, and a high density of
states. These conditions can be fulfilled for metallic hydrogen and covalent
compounds dominated by hydrogen4,5. Numerous calculations support this idea and
predict Tc of 50-235 K for many hydrides6 but only moderate Tc=17 K has been
observed experimentally7. Here we studied sulfur hydride8 where a Tc~80 K was
predicted9. We found that it transforms to a metal at pressure ~90 GPa. With
cooling superconductivity was found deduced from a sharp drop of the
resistivity to zero and a decrease of Tc with magnetic field. The pronounce
isotope shift of Tc in D2S is evidence of an electron-phonon mechanism of
superconductivity that is consistent with the BCS scenario. The
superconductivity has been confirmed by magnetic susceptibility measurements
with Tc=203K. The high Tc superconductivity most likely is due to H3S which is
formed from H2S under its decomposition under pressure. Even higher Tc, room
temperature superconductivity, can be expected in other hydrogen-based
materials since hydrogen atoms provide the high frequency phonon modes as well
as the strong electron-phonon coupling
Nitrogen backbone oligomers
In contrast to carbon, which forms long polymeric chains, all-nitrogen chains
are very unstable. Here we found that nitrogen and hydrogen directly react at
room temperature and pressures of about 35 GPa forming a mixture of nitrogen
backbone oligomers - chains of single-bonded nitrogen atom with the rest of the
bonds terminated with hydrogen atoms - as identified by IR absorption, Raman,
X-ray diffraction experiments and theoretical calculations. The pressure
required for the synthesis strongly decreases with temperature to about 20 GPa
at 550 K. At releasing pressures below about 10 GPa, the product transforms
into hydrazine. Our findings might open a way for the practical synthesis of
these extremely high energetic materials as the formation of nitrogen-hydrogen
compounds is favorable already at pressures above 2 GPa according to the
calculations.Comment: 34 pages, 21 figure
Exotic magnetism in the alkali sesquoxides Rb4O6 and Cs4O6
Among the various alkali oxides the sesquioxides Rb4O6 and Cs4O6 are of
special interest. Electronic structure calculations using the local
spin-density approximation predicted that Rb4O6 should be a half-metallic
ferromagnet, which was later contradicted when an experimental investigation of
the temperature dependent magnetization of Rb4O6 showed a low-temperature
magnetic transition and differences between zero-field-cooled (ZFC) and
field-cooled (FC) measurements. Such behavior is known from spin glasses and
frustrated systems. Rb4O6 and Cs4O6 comprise two different types of dioxygen
anions, the hyperoxide and the peroxide anions. The nonmagnetic peroxide anions
do not contain unpaired electrons while the hyperoxide anions contain unpaired
electrons in antibonding pi*-orbitals. High electron localization (narrow
bands) suggests that electronic correlations are of major importance in these
open shell p-electron systems. Correlations and charge ordering due to the
mixed valency render p-electron-based anionogenic magnetic order possible in
the sesquioxides. In this work we present an experimental comparison of Rb4O6
and the related Cs4O6. The crystal structures are verified using powder x-ray
diffraction. The mixed valency of both compounds is confirmed using Raman
spectroscopy, and time-dependent magnetization experiments indicate that both
compounds show magnetic frustration, a feature only previously known from d-
and f-electron systems
Spectroscopy of HS: evidence of a new energy scale for superconductivity
The discovery of a superconducting phase in sulfur hydride under high
pressure with a critical temperature above 200 K has provided a new impetus to
the search for even higher . Theory predicted and experiment confirmed
that the phase involved is HS with Im-3m crystal structure. The observation
of a sharp drop in resistance to zero at , its downward shift with
magnetic field and a Meissner effect confirm superconductivity but the
mechanism involved remains to be determined. Here, we provide a first optical
spectroscopy study of this new superconductor. Experimental results for the
optical reflectivity of HS, under high pressure of 150 GPa, for several
temperatures and over the range 60 to 600 meV of photon energies, are compared
with theoretical calculations based on Eliashberg theory using DFT results for
the electron-phonon spectral density F(). Two significant
features stand out: some remarkably strong infrared active phonons at
160 meV and a band with a depressed reflectance in the superconducting state in
the region from 450 meV to 600 meV. In this energy range, as predicted by
theory, HS is found to become a better reflector with increasing
temperature. This temperature evolution is traced to superconductivity
originating from the electron-phonon interaction. The shape, magnitude, and
energy dependence of this band at 150 K agrees with our calculations. This
provides strong evidence of a conventional mechanism. However, the unusually
strong optical phonon suggests a contribution of electronic degrees of freedom.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures. Main manuscript and supplementary informatio
- …