295 research outputs found
Superconductivity in the Chalcogens up to Multimegabar Pressures
Highly sensitive magnetic susceptibility techniques were used to measure the
superconducting transition temperatures in S up to 231(5) GPa. S
transforms to a superconductor with T of 10 K and has a discontinuity in
T_c dependence at 160 GPa corresponding to bco to beta-Po phase transition.
Above this pressure T_c in S has a maximum reaching about 17.3(+/-0.5) K at 200
GPa and then slowly decreases with pressure to 15 K at 230 GPa.
This trend in the pressure dependence parallels the behavior of the heavier
members Se and Te. Superconductivity in Se was also observed from 15 to 25 GPa
with T_c changing from 4 to 6 K and above 150 GPa with T_c of 8 K.
Similiarities in the T_c dependences for S, Se, and Te, and the implications
for oxygen are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 10 figure
Hexagonal structure of phase III of solid hydrogen
A hexagonal structure of solid molecular hydrogen with symmetry is
calculated to be more stable below about 200 GPa than the monoclinic
structure identified previously as the best candidate for phase III. We find
that the effects of nuclear quantum and thermal vibrations play a central role
in the stabilization of . The and structures are very
similar and their Raman and infra-red data are in good agreement with
experiment. However, our calculations show that the hexagonal
structure provides better agreement with the available x-ray diffraction data
than the structure at pressures below about 200 GPa. We suggest that two
phase-III-like structures may be formed at high pressures, hexagonal
below about 200 GPa and monoclinic at higher pressures.B.M. acknowledges Robinson College, Cambridge, and the Cambridge Philosophical Society for a Henslow Research Fellowship. R.J.N., E.G., and C.J.P. acknowledge financial support from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of the United Kingdom (Grants No. EP/J017639/1, No. EP/J003999/1, and No. EP/K013688/1, respectively). C.J.P. is also supported by the Royal Society through a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit award. The calculations were performed on the Darwin Supercomputer of the University of Cambridge High Performance Computing Service facility (http://www.hpc.cam.ac.uk/) and the Archer facility of the UK national high performance computing service, for which access was obtained via the UKCP consortium and funded by EPSRC Grant No. EP/K014560/1.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the American Physical Society via https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.94.13410
Anomalous optical and electronic properties of dense sodium
Based on ab initio density-functional-theory using generalized gradient
approximation, we systematically study the optical and electronic properties of
the insulating dense sodium phase (Na-hp4) reported recently [Ma \textit{et
al.}, Nature \textbf{458}, 182 (2009)]. The structure is found optically
anisotropic and transparent to visible light, which can be well interpreted
using its electronic band structure and angular moment decomposed density of
states. Through the bader analysis of Na-hp4 at different pressures, we
conclude that ionicity exists in the structure and becomes stronger with
increasing pressure. In addition, the absorption spectra in the energy range
from 1.4 to 2.4 eV are compared with recent experimental results and found good
agreement. It is found that the deep-lying valence electrons participate in the
interband transition.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure
Poisson's ratio in cryocrystals under pressure
We present results of lattice dynamics calculations of Poisson's ratio (PR)
for solid hydrogen and rare gas solids (He, Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe) under pressure.
Using two complementary approaches - the semi-empirical many-body calculations
and the first-principle density-functional theory calculations we found three
different types of pressure dependencies of PR. While for solid helium PR
monotonically decreases with rising pressure, for Ar, Kr, and Xe it
monotonically increases with pressure. For solid hydrogen and Ne the pressure
dependencies of PR are non-monotonic displaying rather deep minimums. The role
of the intermolecular potentials in this diversity of patterns is discussed.Comment: Fizika Nizkikh Temperatur 41, 571 (2015
The Interiors of Giant Planets: Models and Outstanding Questions
We know that giant planets played a crucial role in the making of our Solar
System. The discovery of giant planets orbiting other stars is a formidable
opportunity to learn more about these objects, what is their composition, how
various processes influence their structure and evolution, and most importantly
how they form. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune can be studied in detail,
mostly from close spacecraft flybys. We can infer that they are all enriched in
heavy elements compared to the Sun, with the relative global enrichments
increasing with distance to the Sun. We can also infer that they possess dense
cores of varied masses. The intercomparison of presently caracterised
extrasolar giant planets show that they are also mainly made of hydrogen and
helium, but that they either have significantly different amounts of heavy
elements, or have had different orbital evolutions, or both. Hence, many
questions remain and are to be answered for significant progresses on the
origins of planets.Comment: 43 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables. To appear in Annual Review of Earth
and Planetary Sciences, vol 33, (2005
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