Related papers: A High Pressure Distorted a-Uranium (Pnma) Structu…
We investigate the crystal structure and lattice vibrations of Sr$_2$IrO$_4$ by a combined phonon Raman scattering and x-ray powder diffraction experiment under pressures up to $66$ GPa and room temperature. Density functional theory (DFT)…
In comparison to 3d or 4f metals, magnetism in actinides remains poorly understood due to experimental complications and the exotic behavior of the 5f states. In particular, plutonium metal is most especially vexing. Over the last five…
The structural nature of high-density amorphous ice (HDA), which forms through low-temperature pressure-induced amorphization of the 'ordinary' ice I, is heavily debated. Clarifying this question is not only important for understanding the…
A uniform distribution of point defects in an otherwise perfect crystallographic structure usually describes a unique pseudo phase of that state of a non-stoichiometric material. With off-stoichiometric uranium dioxide as a prototype, we…
We report a high-pressure study of orthorhombic rare-earth manganites AMnO3 using Raman scattering (for A = Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Tb and Dy) and synchrotron X-ray diffraction (for A = Pr, Sm, Eu, and Dy). In all cases, a structural and…
Noble metals adopt close-packed structures at ambient pressure and rarely undergo structural transformation at high pressures. Platinum (Pt), in particular, is normally considered to be unreactive and is therefore not expected to form…
The electronic structure of plutonium metal and its compounds pose a grand challenge for a fundamental understanding of the Pu-5$f$ electron character. For 30 years the plutonium chalcogenides have been especially challenging, and multiple…
We have used specific heat and neutron diffraction measurements on single crystals of URu$_{2-x}$Fe$_x$Si$_2$ for Fe concentrations $x$ $\leq$ 0.7 to establish that chemical substitution of Ru with Fe acts as "chemical pressure" $P_{ch}$ as…
We report x-ray synchrotron experiments on epitaxial films of uranium, deposited on niobium and tungsten seed layers. Despite similar lattice parameters for these refractory metals, the uranium epitaxial arrangements are different and the…
The lattice distortion parameter $\delta \equiv c/a-\sqrt{8/3}$ has been calculated as a function of molar volume for the hcp phases of He, Ar, Kr and Xe. Results from both semi-empirical potentials and density functional theory are…
Electronic states under pressure exhibit unconventional spin and charge dynamics that provide a powerful route to uncover exotic phases in quantum materials. Here, we present the structural, magnetic, and electronic evolution of…
We investigate the pressure-temperature ($p$-$T$) phase diagram of elemental lithium (Li) up to multiterapascal (TPa) pressures using ab-initio random structure search (AIRSS) and density functional theory (DFT). At zero temperature, beyond…
The phase diagram and stability limits of diatomic solid nitrogen have been explored in a wide pressure--temperature range by several optical spectroscopic techniques. A newly characterized narrow-gap semiconducting phase $\eta$ has been…
High temperature crystal structure of UPt$_2$Si$_2$ determined using single-crystal neutron diffraction at 400 K is reported. It is found that the crystal structure remains of the primitive tetragonal CaBe$_2$Ge$_2$ type with the space…
The high-pressure behavior of monoclinic VO$_2$ is revisited by a combination of Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction on a single crystal under hydrostatic conditions at room temperature. A soft mode is observed up to P$_c$ = 13.9(1)…
The behavior of metals at high pressure is of great importance to the fields of shock physics, geophysics, astrophysics, and nuclear materials. In order to further understand the properties of metals at high pressures we studied the…
We report a new tetragonal ground-state for perovskite-structured PbCrO3 from DFT+U calculations, and explain its anomalously large volume. The new structure is stabilized due to orbital ordering of Cr-d in the presence of a large…
Lithium - the lightest alkali metal - exhibits unexpected structures and electronic behaviour at high pressures. As the heavier alkalis, Li is bcc at ambient pressure and transforms first to fcc (at 7.5 GPa). The post-fcc high-pressure form…
We report high pressure X-ray diffraction and a detailed systematic Raman measurements on $ReS_2$ sample, which is mechanically exfoliated from a single crystal. A few new Bragg peaks are observed to emerge above 6 GPa indicating a…
The potential of silicon nanowires (SiNWs), (diameter < 10 nm) to transform into rigid bundle-like structures with distinct phonon confinement under high pressure (<= 15 GPa), instead of amorphising as per previous reports, is demonstrated…