ABSTRACT
High-temperature unconventional superconductivity quite generically emerges from doping a strongly correlated parent compound, often (close to) an antiferromagnetic insulator. The recently developed dynamical vertex approximation is a state-of-the-art technique that has quantitatively predicted the superconducting dome of nickelates. Here, we apply it to study the effect of pressure in the infinite-layer nickelate SrxPr1-xNiO2. We reproduce the increase of the critical temperature (Tc) under pressure found in experiment up to 12 GPa. According to our results, Tc can be further increased with higher pressures. Even without Sr-doping the parent compound, PrNiO2, will become a high-temperature superconductor thanks to a strongly enhanced self-doping of the Ni d x 2 - y 2 orbital under pressure. With a maximal Tc of 100 K around 100 GPa, nickelate superconductors can reach that of the best cuprates.
ABSTRACT
Hydrogen hydrates are among the basic constituents of our solar system's outer planets, some of their moons, as well Neptune-like exo-planets. The details of their high-pressure phases and their thermodynamic conditions of formation and stability are fundamental information for establishing the presence of hydrogen hydrates in the interior of those celestial bodies, for example, against the presence of the pure components (water ice and molecular hydrogen). Here, we report a synthesis path and experimental observation, by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy measurements, of the most H[Formula: see text]-dense phase of hydrogen hydrate so far reported, namely the compound 3 (or C[Formula: see text]). The detailed characterisation of this hydrogen-filled ice, based on the crystal structure of cubic ice I (ice I[Formula: see text]), is performed by comparing the experimental observations with first-principles calculations based on density functional theory and the stochastic self-consistent harmonic approximation. We observe that the extreme (up to 90 GPa and likely beyond) pressure stability of this hydrate phase is due to the close-packed geometry of the hydrogen molecules caged in the ice I[Formula: see text] skeleton.
ABSTRACT
We briefly review the status quo of research on the putative superconductor Pb9Cu(PO4)6O also known as LK-99. Further, we provideab initioderived tight-binding parameters for a two- and five-band model, and solve these in dynamical-mean-field theory. The interaction-to-bandwidth ratio makes LK-99 a Mott or charge transfer insulator. Electron or hole doping (which is different from substituting Pb by Cu and thus differs from LK-99) is required to make it metallic and potentially superconducting.
ABSTRACT
Motivated by the recent report of room-temperature superconductivity at near-ambient pressure in N-doped lutetium hydride, we performed a comprehensive, detailed study of the phase diagram of the Lu-N-H system, looking for superconducting phases. We combined ab initio crystal structure prediction with ephemeral data-derived interatomic potentials to sample over 200,000 different structures. Out of the more than 150 structures predicted to be metastable within ~50 meV from the convex hull we identify 52 viable candidates for conventional superconductivity, for which we computed their superconducting properties from Density Functional Perturbation Theory. Although for some of these structures we do predict a finite superconducting Tc, none is even remotely compatible with room-temperature superconductivity as reported by Dasenbrock et al. Our work joins the broader community effort that has followed the report of near-ambient superconductivity, confirming beyond reasonable doubt that no conventional mechanism can explain the reported Tc in Lu-N-H.
ABSTRACT
In this paper we present a first-principles study of the high-pressure superconducting phase diagram of calcium alanates (Ca-Al-H), based onab-initiocrystal structure prediction and anisotropic Migdal-Eliashberg Theory. Calcium alanates have been intensively studied at ambient pressure for their hydrogen-storage properties, but their high-pressure behavior is largely unknown. By performing a full scan of the ternary convex hull at several pressures between 0 and 300 GPa, we identify several new structural motifs, characterized by a high Al-H coordination, where Aldorbitals participate in the bonding. Among all new phases thus identified, we focus in particular on a phase with CaAlH7composition, which lies on the convex hull at 300 GPa, and remains dynamically stable down to 50 GPa, with a predicted superconductingTcof 82 K, which likely represents a new promising template to achieve increase chemical precompression in ternary hydrides. Our findings reveal important insights into the structure-property relationships of calcium alanates under high pressure, and highlight a possible strategy to achieve conventional superconductivity at low pressures.
