No Arabic abstract
The phase diagram of oxygen is investigated for pressures from 50 to 130~GPa and temperatures up 1200 K using first principles theory. A metallic molecular structure with the $P6_3/mmc$ symmetry ($eta^{}$ phase) is determined to be thermodynamically stable in this pressure range at elevated temperatures above the $epsilon$(${O_8}$) phase. Long-standing disagreements between theory and experiment for the stability of $epsilon$(${O_8}$), its metallic character, and the transition pressure to the $zeta$ oxygen phase are resolved. Crucial for obtaining these results are the inclusion of anharmonic lattice dynamics effects and accurate calculations of exchange interactions in the presence of thermal disorder.
Motivated by recent discovery of yttrium-based high-temperature ternary superconducting hydrides (e.g., CaYH$_{12}$, LaYH$_{12}$, and ScYH$_{6}$), we have employed evolutionary algorithm and first-principles calculations to comprehensively examine the structural stability and superconductivity of the YMgH$_{x}$ system at high pressure. The hydrogen content $x$ and the pressure are both important factors in the stability of these candidate structures. We find that the stability of hydrogen-rich materials frequently necessitates higher pressure. For instance, the pressures to stabilize $P4/mmm$-YMgH$_{8}$ and $Cmmm$-YMgH$_{12}$ are both more than 250 GPa. Hydrogen-less materials, such as $I4_{1}/amd$-YMgH$_{2}$ and $P6_{3}/mmc$-YMgH$_{3}$, can be stable at pressures as low as 100 GPa. In addition, we find a metastable structure for YMgH$_{6}$ with the same space group as the $P4/mmm$-YMgH$_{8}$. A metastable sodalite-like face-centered cubic (FCC) structure is also found in YMgH$_{12}$. These four clathrate structures of $P4/mmm$-YMgH$_{6}$, $P4/mmm$-YMgH$_{8}$, $Cmmm$-YMgH$_{12}$, and $Fdbar{3}m$-YMgH$_{12}$ is made up of H14, H18, H24, and H24 cages, respectively, in which the H-H pair exhibits weak covalent bonding. According to phonon calculations, $P4/mmm$-YMgH$_{6}$ and $P4/mmm$-YMgH$_{8}$ require a pressure of 300 GPa to maintain dynamic stability, however $Cmmm$-YMgH$_{12}$ and $Fdbar{3}m$-YMgH$_{12}$ can maintain dynamic stability at pressures of 200 GPa and 250 GPa, respectively. Electron-phonon coupling calculations indicate that they might be potential high-temperature superconductors, with superconductivity intimately linked to the H cage structure. The sodalite structure $Fdbar{3}m$-YMgH$_{12}$ has a $T_mathrm{c}$ value of 190 K and a strong electron-phonon coupling constant of 2.18.
In the canonical ramp compression experiment, a smoothly-increasing load is applied to the surface of the sample, and the particle velocity history is measured at two or more different distances into the sample, at interfaces where the surface of the sample can be probed. The velocity histories are used to deduce a stress-density relation, usually using iterative Lagrangian analysis to account for the perturbing effect of the impedance mismatch at the interface. In that technique, a stress- density relation is assumed in order to correct for the perturbation, and is adjusted until it becomes consistent with the deduced stress-density relation. This process is subject to the usual difficulties of nonlinear optimization, such as the existence of local minima (sensitivity to the initial guess), possible failure to converge, and relatively large computational effort. We show that, by considering the interaction of successive characteristics reaching the interfaces, the stress-density relation can be deduced directly by recursion rather than iteration. This calculation is orders of magnitude faster than iterative analysis, and does not require an initial guess. Direct recursion may be less suitable for very noisy data, but it was robust when applied to trial data. The stress-density relation deduced was identical to the result from iterative Lagrangian analysis.
There have existed for a long time a paradigm that TiO phases at ambient conditions are stable only if structural vacancies are available. Using an evolutionary algorithm, we perform an ab initio search of possible zero-temperature polymorphs of TiO in wide pressure interval. We obtain the Gibbs energy of the competing phases taking into account entropy via quasiharmonic approximation and build the pressure-temperature diagram of the system. We reveal that two vacancy-free hexagonal phases are the most stable at relatively low temperatures in a wide range of pressures. The transition between these phases takes place at 28 GPa. Only above 1290 K at ambient pressure the phases with vacancies (B1-derived) become stable. In particular, the high-pressure hexagonal phase is shown to have unusual electronic properties, with a pronounced pseudo-gap in the electronic spectrum. The comparison of DFT-GGA and GW calculations demonstrates that the account for many-body corrections significantly changes the electronic spectrum near the Fermi energy.
The pressure dependent phonon modes of predominant wurtzite InAs nanowires has been investigated in a diamond anvil cell under hydrostatic pressure up to 58 GPa. The TO and LO at Gamma point and other optical phonon frequencies increase linearly while the LO TO splitting decreases with pressure. The recorded Raman modes have been used to determine the mode Gruneisen parameters and also the value of Borns transverse effective charge. The calculated Borns transverse effective charge exhibits a linear reduction with increasing pressure implying an increase in covalency of nanowires under compression. The intensity of the Raman modes shows a strong enhancement as the energy of E1 band gap approaches the excitation energy, which has been discussed in terms of resonant Raman scattering. An indication of structural phase transformation has been observed above pressure 10.87 GPa. We propose this transformation may be from wurtzite to rock salt phase although further experimental and theoretical confirmations are needed.
Beyond the conventional electron pairing mediated by phonons, high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates is believed to stem from quantum spin liquid (QSL). The unconventional superconductivity by doping a spin liquid/Mott insulator, is a long-sought goal but a principal challenge in condensed matter physics because of the lack of an ideal QSL platform. Here we report the pressure induced metallization and possible unconventional superconductivity in $NaYbSe_{2}$, which belongs to a large and ideal family of triangular lattice spin liquid we revealed recently and is evidenced to possess a QSL ground state. The charge gap of NaYbSe2 is gradually reduced by applying pressures, and at ~20 GPa the crystal jumps into a superconducting (SC) phase with Tc ~ 5.8 K even before the insulating gap is completely closed. The metallization is confirmed by further high-pressure experiments but the sign of superconductivity is not well repeated. No symmetry breaking accompanies the SC transition, as indicated by X-ray diffraction and low-temperature Raman experiments under high pressures. This intrinsically connects QSL and SC phases, and suggests an unconventional superconductivity developed from QSL. We further observed the magnetic-field-tuned superconductor-insulator transition which is analogous to that found in the underdoped cuprate superconductor $La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4}$. The study is expected to inspire interest in exploring new types of superconductors and sheds light into the intriguing physics from a spin liquid/Mott insulator to a superconductor.