arXiv subjects

Anshuman Mondal

Publications and source records attributed to Anshuman Mondal.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Novel Transformations of PbTiO3 with Pressure and Temperature

We investigated the behavior of lead titanate (PbTiO3) up to 100 GPa, both at room temperature and upon laser heating, using synchrotron X ray diffraction combined with density functional theory (DFT) computations. At the high pressure temperature (PT) conditions produced in laser heated diamond anvil cells, PbTiO3 dissociates into PbO and TiO2, consistent with our DFT computations showing that decomposition becomes enthalpically favored above 65 GPa. In contrast, on room temperature compression, PbTiO3 persists in the tetragonal I4mcm phase up to at least 100 GPa. Laser heating produces distinct PbO phases: a compressed form of alpha PbO and a previously unreported delta PbO polymorph, both of which transform to beta PbO on decompression. The calculations predict that alpha PbO undergoes pressure-induced band gap closure, metallizing above 70 GPa, whereas the delta and beta phases remain semiconducting with a band gap above 1 eV even at megabar pressures. The experimental and confirming theoretical results reveal an unanticipated dimension of the behavior of PbTiO3, showing that distinct equilibrium and metastable phases can be stabilized along different PT synthesis paths.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Compressional rate-dependent stability of ammonia hydrates crystallized from water-rich ammonia-water solutions

Understanding the crystallization pathways of water-rich ammonia-water (NH3-H2O) solutions and the stability of ammonia hydrates is key to unraveling the behavior of complex hydrogen-bonding networks as well as for planetary interior modelling. Yet, there are still inconsistencies in the crystallization sequence reported upon pressure-induced crystallization of H2O-rich NH3-H2O solutions at room temperature. Here, we investigate the effect of compression rates on the crystallization pathways of 25 wt% NH3 aqueous solutions at room temperature using dynamically compressed diamond anvil cells (dDAC) coupled with time-resolved X-ray diffraction. We show that compression rates exceeding 0.5 GPa/sec promote direct crystallization of a body-centered cubic (bcc) phase (DMA') with possible AMH stoichiometry coexisting with H2O ice VII, while rates below 0.2 GPa/sec stabilize monoclinic NH3-rich AHH-II and ice VII phases. Intermediate rates between 0.2-0.5 GPa/sec produce a mixture of both hydrates alongside ice VII, hence demonstrating the role of compression rate on the crystallization sequence of ammonia solutions. The compression behavior and phase stability of the distinct phase assemblies (AHH-II/DMA' + ice VII) are investigated further to place constraints on the composition of the DMA' phase, the effect of ice VII on the compressibility of ammonia hydrates, and the plausible incorporation of NH3 impurities within the lattice of high-pressure ice phases.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Evidence of electronic instability driven structural distortion in the nodal line semimetal CoSn$_2$

Understanding the mechanisms that drive spontaneous rotational symmetry breaking in correlated electron systems is a central challenge in condensed matter physics. Although such symmetry breaking phases have been studied in low-dimensional and strongly correlated materials, its emergence in structurally simpler compounds remains less explored. Here, we investigate non-magnetic CoSn$_2$ that is a centrosymmetric intermetallic compound crystallizing in a tetragonal structure at ambient conditions, and discover an electronically driven symmetry breaking instability. Electrical resistivity reveals a distinct change in the slope below 25 K, deviating from the expected Bloch-Grüneisen behavior. This anomaly is attributed towards a structural change as at 22 K single crystal X-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation uncovers weak superlattice reflections that leads to a doubling of $\textbf{a}$ and $\textbf{c}$, resulting in a 4-fold superstructure. The symmetry of the lattice reduces from tetragonal to acentric monoclinic but without any discernible monoclinic distortion down to 10 K. This structural transition is accompanied by a twofold symmetry in angular magnetoresistance, contrasting the fourfold symmetry observed at higher temperatures. First-principles calculations show no phonon softening but reveal enhanced electronic susceptibility, suggesting an electronic instability. Polarization-dependent ARPES measurements further identify a strong orbital anisotropy dominated by the in-plane Co-$d_{xy}$ states. Collectively, our results point to an electronic instability driven structural distortion in CoSn$_2$, offering a rare platform to study symmetry breaking in a non-magnetic metallic system.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Evidence for ultra-water-rich ammonia hydrates stabilized in icy exoplanetary mantles

Understanding the behavior of the water-ammonia system at high pressure-high temperature conditions is important for modeling the internal dynamics of exoplanet icy mantles. Conventionally, mixtures of ammonia hemihydrate AHH (2:1 ammonia-water molar ratio) and H2O ice VII have been regarded as the ultimate solid phase assembly in the system. Here we report evidence for chemical reactions between AHH and ice VII above 750 K and 16 GPa that stabilize water-rich ammonia hydrates, including a novel ultra-water rich hydrate NH3.6H2O (1:6 ratio) coexisting with ammonia dihydrate ADH (1:2 ratio) and excess ice VII. This assembly is stable up to at least 30 GPa and 1600 K and can be quenched to room temperature. Our results demonstrate that water-rich ammonia hydrates are favored in the icy mantle of 1-2 MEarth exoplanets regardless of the ammonia content of the hydrate crystallized during accretion and/or evolution as long as excess H2O ice is available. The buoyancy contrast between water-rich hydrates and ice VII may lead to chemical stratification in exoplanet icy mantles, hence affecting their thermal evolution.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2020

High Pressure Structural Investigation on Lead-Free Piezoelectric $0.5Ba(Ti_{0.8}Zr_{0.2})O_3$-$0.5(Ba_{0.7}Ca_{0.3})TiO_3$

The solid solution $0.5Ba(Ti_{0.8}Zr_{0.2})O_3$-$0.5(Ba_{0.7}Ca_{0.3})TiO_3$ (BCZT) has become a promising member of the lead-free piezoelectric materials because of its exceptionally high piezoelectric properties. In this study, we focus on studying pressure-dependent Raman spectroscopy, powder x-ray diffraction and dielectric constant measurements on BCZT. The data show several structural transitions are present, where the system from ambient mixed phase (tetragonal, {\it {P4mm}}+ orthorhombic {\it {Amm2}}) transforms into single phase ({\it {P4mm}}) at 0.26 GPa, then converts into cubic phase ({\it {Pm3m}}) at 4.7 GPa followed by another possible structural re-ordering around 10 GPa. Although there have been a lot of unanimity with the ambient crystallographic state of BCZT, our analysis justifies the presence of an intermediate orthorhombic phase in the Morphological Phase Boundary (MPB) of BCZT phase diagram. The transformation tetragonal to cubic is indicated by the Raman mode softening, unit cell volume change and the $(Ti/Zr)O_6$ octahedra distortion, which coincides with the well-known ferroelectric-paraelectric transition of the system. The sudden drop in the dielectric constant value at 4.7 GPa also confirms the loss of ferroelectric nature of the BCZT ceramic.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗