Pressure is the cleanest way to tune heavy fermion systems to a quantum phase transition in order to study the rich physics and competing phases, and the comparison between ytterbium and cerium systems is particularly fruitful. We briefly review the
mechanisms in play and show some examples of expected and unexpected behaviour. We emphasize the importance of the valence changes under pressure and show how modern synchrotron techniques can accurately determine this, including at low temperature.
We report on the synthesis of superconducting single crystals of FeSe, and their characterization by X-ray diffraction, magnetization and resistivity. We have performed ac susceptibility measurements under high pressure in a hydrostatic liquid argon
medium up to 14 GPa and we find that TC increases up to 33-36 K in all samples, but with slightly different pressure dependences on different samples. Above 12 GPa no traces of superconductivity are found in any sample. We have also performed a room temperature high pressure X-ray diffraction study up to 12 GPa on a powder sample, and we find that between 8.5 GPa and 12 GPa, the tetragonal PbO structure undergoes a structural transition to a hexagonal structure. This transition results in a volume decrease of about 16%, and is accompanied by the appearance of an intermediate, probably orthorhombic phase.
