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Superconductivity and Lattice Instability in Compressed Lithium from Fermi Surface Hot Spots

Deepa Kasinathan·J. Kunes·A. Lazicki·H. Rosner·C. S. Yoo·R. T. Scalettar·W. E. Pickett
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Abstract

The highest superconducting temperature T$_c$ observed in any elemental metal (Li with T$_c$ ~ 20 K at pressure P ~ 40 GPa) is shown to arise from critical (formally divergent) electron-phonon coupling to the transverse T$_1$ phonon branch along intersections of Kohn anomaly surfaces with the Fermi surface. First principles linear response calculations of the phonon spectrum and spectral function $α^2 F(ω)$ reveal (harmonic) instability already at 25 GPa. Our results imply that the fcc phase is anharmonically stabilized in the 25-38 GPa range.

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Deepa Kasinathan, J. Kunes, A. Lazicki, H. Rosner, C. S. Yoo, R. T. Scalettar, W. E. Pickett. 2005-10-20. Superconductivity and Lattice Instability in Compressed Lithium from Fermi Surface Hot Spots. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.96.047004

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