Electronic instability and change of crystalline phase in compounds of the V3Si type at low temperature

Abstract

In V3Si, the V atoms form an array of dense linear chains; a tight-binding approximation in one dimension was used to describe the d electrons. The electronic energy calculated by this method was reduced when the lattice is deformed. This lead to a band type of the Jahn Teller effect, which may explain the cubic to tetragonal transition which was observed at low temperatures. The theory can be extended to other superconductors of the V3X type when X=Ga, Ge, Sn, etcetera, or NB3SN