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The synthesis of the high-$T_c$ superhydride CaH$_6$ has stimulated significant interest in understanding synthesis pathways for metastable hydrides. However, the microscopic mechanisms governing such hydrogenation reactions remain poorly…
We have studied solid hydrogen up to pressures of 300 GPa and temperatures of 350 K using density functional theory methods and have found "mixed structures" that are more stable than those predicted earlier. Mixed structures consist of…
The optical absorption of CdWO$_4$ is reported at high pressures up to 23 GPa. The onset of a phase transition was detected at 19.5 GPa, in good agreement with a previous Raman spectroscopy study. The crystal structure of the high-pressure…
In this paper, we revisit the high-pressure behavior of BaZrO3 by a combination of first-principle calculations, Raman spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction under high pressure. We confirm experimentally the cubic-to-tetragonal transition at…
(TaSe$_4$)$_3$I, a compound belonging to the family of quasi-one-dimensional transition-metal tetrachalcogenides, has drawn significant attention due to a recent report on possible coexistence of two antagonistic phenomena,…
The cubic-to-orthorhombic structural transition occurring in CsH at a pressure of about 17 GPa is studied by ab initio calculations. The relative stability of the competing structures and the transition pressure are correctly predicted. We…
Solid CS$_{2}$ is superficially similar to CO$_{2}$, with the same $Cmca$ molecular crystal structure at low pressures, which has suggested similar phases also at high pressures. We carried out an extensive first principles evolutionary…
Our first-principles computations show that the ground state of PbTiO$_3$ under hydrostatic pressure transforms discontinuously from $P4mm$ to $R3c$ at 9 GPa. Spontaneous polarization decreases with increasing pressure so that the $R3c$…
Vitreous GeO$_2$ has been compressed at high temperature, to investigate the effect of thermal activation on the structural reorganization during compression. The measurements were performed in-situ using micro Raman spectroscopy under…
Density functional theory (DFT) was employed to study the stress-strain behavior, elastic instabilities, and metallization during a solid-solid phase transformation (PT) between semiconducting Si I (cubic A4) and metallic Si II (tetragonal…
Among all the interstellar complex organic molecules (iCOMs), acetaldehyde is one of the most widely detected species. The question of its formation route(s) is, therefore, of a major interest regarding astrochemical models. In this paper,…
Density functional perturbation theory calculations of alpha-quartz using extended norm conserving pseudopotentials have been used to study the elastic properties and phonon dispersion relations along various high symmetry directions as a…
Superconductivity under pressure in FeSe ($T_{\rm c}$$\sim$7.5 K) has been investigated using single-crystal specimens through the measurements of DC magnetization and electrical resistivity. A characteristic three-step increase in $T_{\rm…
Interacting many-particle systems can self-organize into a rich variety of crystalline structures. While symmetry provides a powerful framework for predicting whether transitions between crystal states are continuous or discontinuous,…
In this article we report the structural stability of Er$_2$Ti$_2$O$_7$ cubic pyrochlore with pressure using x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence, x-ray absorption and ab-initio calculations. Our studies establish a…
The interplay between electron correlation and nuclear quantum effects makes our understanding of elemental hydrogen a formidable challenge. Here, we present the phase diagram of hydrogen and deuterium at low temperatures and high-pressure…
We have performed ab-initio molecular dynamics simulations to elucidate the mechanism of the phase transition at high pressure from hexagonal graphite (HG) to hexagonal diamond (HD) or to cubic diamond (CD). The transition from HG to HD is…
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…
Carbon monoxide and nitrogen are among the potentially interesting high-energy density materials. However, in spite of the physical similarities of the molecules, they behave very differently at high pressures. Using density functional…
Li2FeSiO4 is an important alternative cathode for next generation Li-ion batteries due to its high theoretical capacity (330 mA h/g). However, its development has faced significant challenges arising from structural complexity and poor…