arXiv subjects

José A. Flores-Livas

Publications and source records attributed to José A. Flores-Livas.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2021

Missing theoretical evidence for conventional room temperature superconductivity in low enthalpy structures of carbonaceous sulfur hydrides

To elucidate the geometric structure of the putative room temperature superconductor, carbonaceous sulfur hydride, at high pressure, we present the results of an extensive computational structure search of bulk C-S-H at 250 gigapascals. Using the minima hopping structure prediction method coupled to the GPU accelerated Sirius library, more than 17,000 local minima with different stochiometries in large simulation cells were investigated. Only 24 stochiometries are favourable against elemental decomposition, all of them are carbon doped H$_3$S crystals. The absence of van Hove singularities or similar peaks in the electronic density of states of more than 3.000 candidate phases rules out conventional superconductivity in C-S-H at room-temperature.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Absence of conventional room temperature superconductivity at high pressure in carbon doped H$_3$S

In this work, we show that the same theoretical tools that successfully explain other hydrides systems under pressure seem to be at odds with the recently claimed conventional room temperature superconductivity of the carbonaceous sulfur hydride. We support our conclusions with I) the absence of a dominant low-enthalpy stoichiometry and crystal structure in the ternary phase diagram. II) Only the thermodynamics of C-doping phases appears to be marginally competing in enthalpy against H$_3$S. III) Accurate results of the transition temperature given by ab initio Migdal-Eliashberg calculations differ by more than 110 K to recently theoretical claims explaining the high-temperature superconductivity in carbonaceous-hydrogen sulfide. A novel mechanism of superconductivity or a breakdown of current theories in this system is possibly behind the disagreement.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

First-Principles Design of Halide-Reduced Electrides: Magnetism and Topological Phases

We propose a design scheme for potential electrides derived from conventional materials. Starting with rare-earth-based ternary halides, we exclude halogens and perform global structure optimization to obtain thermodynamically stable or metastable phases but having an excess of electrons confined inside interstitial cavities. Then, spin-polarized interstitial states are induced by chemical substitution with magnetic lanthanides. To demonstrate the capability of our approach, we test with 11 ternary halides and successfully predict 30 stable and metastable phases of nonmagnetic electrides subject to 3 different stoichiometric categories, and successively 28 magnetic electrides via chemical substitution with Gd. 56 out of these 58 designed electrides are discovered for the first time. Two electride systems, the monoclinic $A$C ($A=$ La, Gd) and the orthorhombic $A_2$Ge ($A=$ Y, Gd), are thoroughly studied to exemplify the set of predicted crystals. Interestingly, both systems turn out to be topological nodal line electrides (TNLE) in the absence of spin-orbit coupling and manifest spin-polarized interstitial states in the case of $A=$ Gd. Our work establishes a novel computational approach of functional electrides design and highlights the magnetism and topological phases embedded in electrides.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Reaching room temperature superconductivity by optimizing doping in LaH$_{10}$?

Intuitively, doping represents one of the most promising avenues for optimization of best prospect superconductors (SC) such as conventional high-pressure SCs with record critical temperatures. However, doping at high pressure (HP) is very challenging, and there is not a proved route to achieve it in a controlled fashion. Aided by computing simulations, we show that it may be plausible to start by alloying primary materials and subsequently incorporate high ratios of hydrogen at moderates pressures ($\approx$1.5 Mbar). Our theoretical results evidence the possibility to tune the electronic structure of LaH$_{10}$, increase the density of states at the Fermi level by doping of various elements and hence change their superconducting properties. We found aluminium to increase the occupation at the Fermi level by more than 30 %. Incorporation of other elements such as Si, Ge, H, Ir, Ca, and others with a varying percentage also play in favour to tune the electronic structure. More importantly, these predictions lie in experimentally attainable doping levels. Also, for the first time, we shed light on how the formation of defects and vacancies influence on the electronic structure of a HP-hydride superconductor. The concepts presented in this work can be extended to other high-pressure, hydrogen-based superconductors such as H$_3$S. Arguably, doping is one of the promising paths to reach room-temperature superconductivity, a Holy grail of condensed matter physics.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2020

High-pressure synthesis of Ba$_2$RhO$_4$, a rhodate analogue of the layered perovskite Sr-ruthenate

A new layered perovskite-type oxide Ba$_2$RhO$_4$ was synthesized by a high-pressure technique with the support of convex-hull calculations. The crystal and electronic structure were studied by both experimental and computational tools. Structural refinements for powder x-ray diffraction data showed that Ba$_2$RhO$_4$ crystallizes in a K$_2$NiF$_4$-type structure, isostructural to Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ and Ba$_2$IrO$_4$. Magnetic, resistivity, and specific heat measurements for polycrystalline samples of Ba$_2$RhO$_4$ indicate that the system can be characterized as a correlated metal. Despite the close similarity to its Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ counterpart in the electronic specific heat coefficient and the Wilson ratio, Ba$_2$RhO$_4$ shows no signature of superconductivity down to 0.16 K. Whereas the Fermi surface topology has reminiscent pieces of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$, an electron-like e$_g$-($d_{x^2-y^2}$) band descends below the Fermi level, making of this compound unique also as a metallic counterpart of the spin-orbit-coupled Mott insulator Ba$_2$IrO$_4$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

A Perspective on Conventional High-Temperature Superconductors at High Pressure: Methods and Materials

Two hydrogen-rich materials, H$_3$S and LaH$_{10}$, synthesized at megabar pressures, have revolutionized the field of condensed matter physics providing the first glimpse to the solution of the hundred-year-old problem of room temperature superconductivity. The mechanism underlying superconductivity in these exceptional compounds is the conventional electron-phonon coupling. Here we describe recent advances in experimental techniques, superconductivity theory and first-principles computational methods which have made possible these discoveries. This work aims to provide an up-to-date compendium of the available results on superconducting hydrides and explain how the synergy of different methodologies led to extraordinary discoveries in the field. Besides, in an attempt to evidence empirical rules governing superconductivity in binary hydrides under pressure, we discuss general trends in the electronic structure and chemical bonding. The last part of the Review introduces possible strategies to optimize pressure and transition temperatures in conventional superconducting materials as well as future directions in theoretical, computational and experimental research.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Quantum Crystal Structure in the 250 K Superconducting Lanthanum Hydride

The discovery of superconductivity at 200 K in the hydrogen sulfide system at large pressures [1] was a clear demonstration that hydrogen-rich materials can be high-temperature superconductors. The recent synthesis of LaH$_{10}$ with a superconducting critical temperature (T$_{\text{c}}$) of 250 K [2,3] places these materials at the verge of reaching the long-dreamed room-temperature superconductivity. Electrical and x-ray diffraction measurements determined a weakly pressure-dependent T$_{\text{c}}$ for LaH$_{10}$ between 137 and 218 gigapascals in a structure with a face-centered cubic (fcc) arrangement of La atoms [3]. Here we show that quantum atomic fluctuations stabilize in all this pressure range a high-symmetry Fm-3m crystal structure consistent with experiments, which has a colossal electron-phonon coupling of $λ\sim3.5$. Even if ab initio classical calculations neglecting quantum atomic vibrations predict this structure to distort below 230 GPa yielding a complex energy landscape with many local minima, the inclusion of quantum effects simplifies the energy landscape evidencing the Fm-3m as the true ground state. The agreement between the calculated and experimental T$_{\text{c}}$ values further supports this phase as responsible for the 250 K superconductivity. The relevance of quantum fluctuations in the energy landscape found here questions many of the crystal structure predictions made for hydrides within a classical approach that at the moment guide the experimental quest for room-temperature superconductivity [4,5,6]. Furthermore, quantum effects reveal crucial to sustain solids with extraordinary electron-phonon coupling that may otherwise be unstable [7].

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Emergence of hidden phases of methylammonium lead-iodide (CH$_3$NH$_3$PbI$_3$) upon compression

We perform a thorough structural search with the minima hopping method (MHM) to explore low-energy structures of methylammonium lead iodide. By combining the MHM with a forcefield, we efficiently screen vast portions of the configurational space with large simulation cells containing up to 96 atoms. Our search reveals two structures of methylammonium iodide perovskite (MAPI) that are substantially lower in energy than the well-studied experimentally observed low-temperature $Pnma$ orthorhombic phase according to density functional calculations. Both structures have not yet been reported in the literature for MAPI, but our results show that they could emerge as thermodynamically stable phases via compression at low temperatures. In terms of the electronic properties, the two phases exhibit larger band gaps than the standard perovskite-type structures. Hence, pressure induced phase selection at technologically achievable pressures (i.e., via thin-film strain) is a route towards the synthesis of several MAPI polymorph with variable band gaps.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Accurate, Large-Scale and Affordable Hybrid-PBE0 Calculations with GPU-Accelerated Supercomputers

Performing high accuracy hybrid functional calculations for condensed matter systems containing a large number of atoms is at present computationally very demanding - when not out of reach - if high quality basis sets are used. We present a highly efficient multiple GPU implementation of the exact exchange operator which allows hybrid functional density-functional theory calculations with systematic basis sets without additional approximations for up to a thousand atoms. This method is implemented in a portable real-space-based algorithm, released as an open-source package. With such a framework hybrid DFT calculations of high quality become accessible on state-of-the-art supercomputers within a time-to-solution of the same order of magnitude as traditional semilocal-GGA functionals.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Elemental Phosphorus: structural and superconducting phase diagram under pressure

Pressure-induced superconductivity and structural phase transitions in phosphorous (P) are studied by resistivity measurements under pressures up to 170 GPa and fully $ab-initio$ crystal structure and superconductivity calculations up to 350 GPa. Two distinct superconducting transition temperature (T$_{c}$) vs. pressure ($P$) trends at low pressure have been reported more than 30 years ago, and for the first time we are able to reproduce them and devise a consistent explanation founded on thermodynamically metastable phases of black-phosphorous. Our experimental and theoretical results form a single, consistent picture which not only provides a clear understanding of elemental P under pressure but also sheds light on the long-standing and unsolved $anomalous$ superconductivity trend. Moreover, at higher pressures we predict a similar scenario of multiple metastable structures which coexist beyond their thermodynamical stability range. Metastable phases of P experimentally accessible at pressures above 240 GPa should exhibit T$_{c}$'s as high as 15 K, i.e. three times larger than the predicted value for the ground-state crystal structure. We observe that all the metastable structures systematically exhibit larger transition temperatures than the ground-state ones, indicating that the exploration of metastable phases represents a promising route to design materials with improved superconducting properties.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

The Elephant in the Room of Density Functional Theory Calculations

Using multiwavelets, we have obtained total energies and corresponding atomization energies for the GGA-PBE and hybrid-PBE0 density functionals for a test set of 211 molecules with an unprecedented and guaranteed $μ$Hartree accuracy. These quasi-exact references allow us to quantify the accuracy of standard all-electron basis sets that are believed to be highly accurate for molecules, such as Gaussian-type orbitals (GTOs), all-electron numeric atom-centered orbitals (NAOs) and full-potential augmented plane wave (APW) methods. We show that NAOs are able to achieve the so-called chemical accuracy (1 kcal/mol) for the typical basis set sizes used in applications, for both total and atomization energies. For GTOs, a triple-zeta quality basis has mean errors of ~10kcal/mol in total energies, while chemical accuracy is almost reached for a quintuple-zeta basis. Due to systematic error cancellations, atomization energy errors are reduced by almost an order of magnitude, placing chemical accuracy within reach also for medium to large GTO bases, albeit with significant outliers. In order to check the accuracy of the computed densities, we have also investigated the dipole moments, where in general, only the largest NAO and GTO bases are able to yield errors below 0.01 Debye. The observed errors are similar across the different functionals considered here.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2016

Emergence of superconductivity in doped H$_2$O ice at high pressure

We investigate the possibility of achieving high-temperature superconductivity in hydrides under pressure by inducing metallization of otherwise insulating phases through doping, a path previously used to render standard semiconductors superconducting at ambient pressure. Following this idea, we study H$_2$O, one of the most abundant and well-studied substances, we identify nitrogen as the most likely and promising substitution/dopant. We show that for realistic levels of doping of a few percent, the phase X of ice becomes superconducting with a critical temperature of about 60 K at 150GPa. In view of the vast number of hydrides that are strongly covalent bonded, but that remain insulating until rather large pressures, our results open a series of new possibilities in the quest for novel high-temperature superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Superconductivity in metastable phases of phosphorus-hydride compounds under high pressure

Hydrogen-rich compounds have been extensively studied both theoretically and experimentally in the quest for novel high-temperature superconductors. Reports on sulfur-hydride attaining metallicity under pressure and exhibiting superconductivity at temperatures as high as 200 K have spurred an intense search for room-temperature superconductors in hydride materials. Recently, compressed phosphine was reported to metallize at pressures above 45 GPa, reaching a superconducting transition temperature (T$_{c}$) of 100 K at 200 GPa. However, neither the exact composition nor the crystal structure of the superconducting phase have been conclusively determined. In this work the phase diagram of PH$_n$ ($n=1,2,3,4,5,6$) was extensively explored by means of {\it ab initio} crystal structure predictions using the Minima Hopping Method (MHM). The results do not support the existence of thermodynamically stable PH$_n$ compounds, which exhibit a tendency for elemental decomposition at high pressure even when vibrational contributions to the free energies are taken into account. Although the lowest energy phases of PH$_{1,2,3}$ display T$_{c}$'s comparable to experiments, it remains uncertain if the measured values of T$_{c}$ can be fully attributed to a phase-pure compound of PH$_n$.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

High temperature superconductivity in sulfur and selenium hydrides at high pressure

Due to its low atomic mass hydrogen is the most promising element to search for high-temperature phononic superconductors. However, metallic phases of hydrogen are only expected at extreme pressures (400 GPa or higher). The measurement of a record superconducting critical temperature of 190 K in a hydrogen-sulfur compound at 200 GPa of pressure[1], shows that metallization of hydrogen can be reached at significantly lower pressure by inserting it in the matrix of other elements. In this work we re-investigate the phase diagram and the superconducting properties of the H-S system by means of minima hopping method for structure prediction and Density Functional theory for superconductors. We also show that Se-H has a similar phase diagram as its sulfur counterpart as well as high superconducting critical temperature. We predict SeH3 to exceed 120 K superconductivity at 100 GPa. We show that both SeH3 and SH3, due to the critical temperature and peculiar electronic structure, present rather unusual superconducting properties.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Superconductivity in intercalated group-IV honeycomb structures

We present a theoretical investigation on electron-phonon superconductivity of honeycomb MX$_2$ layered structures. Where X is one element of the group-IV (C, Si or Ge) and M an alkali or an alkaline-earth metal. Among the studied composition we predict a $T_c$ of 7 K in RbGe$_2$, 9 K in RbSi$_2$ and 11 K in SrC$_2$. All these compounds feature a strongly anisotropic superconducting gap. Our results show that despite the different doping and structural properties, the three families of materials fall into a similar description of its superconducting behavior. This allows us to estimate an upper critical temperature of about 20 K for the class of intercalated group-IV structures, including intercalated graphite and doped graphene.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Low-energy silicon allotropes with strong absorption in the visible for photovoltaic applications

We present state-of-the-art first-principle calculations of the electronic and optical properties of silicon allotropes with interesting characteristics for applications in thin-film solar cells. These new phases consist of distorted sp$^3$ silicon networks and have a lower formation energy than other experimentally produced silicon phases. Some of these structures turned out to have quasi-direct and dipole-allowed band gaps in the range 0.8--1.5\,eV, and to display absorption coefficients comparable with those of chalcopyrites used in thin-film record solar cells.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

Prediction of a novel monoclinic carbon allotrope

A novel allotrope of carbon with $P2/m$ symmetry was identified during an \emph{ab-initio} minima-hopping structural search which we call $M10$-carbon. This structure is predicted to be more stable than graphite at pressures above 14.4 GPa and consists purely of $sp^3$ bonds. It has a high bulk modulus and is almost as hard as diamond. A comparison of the simulated X-ray diffraction pattern shows a good agreement with experimental results from cold compressed graphite.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2011

The crystal structure of cold compressed graphite

Through a systematic structural search we found an allotrope of carbon with Cmmm symmetry which we predict to be more stable than graphite for pressures above 10 GPa. This material, which we refer to as Z-carbon, is formed by pure sp3 bonds and is the only carbon allotrope which provides an excellent match to unexplained features in experimental X-ray diffraction and Raman spectra of graphite under pressure. The transition from graphite to Z-carbon can occur through simple sliding and buckling of graphene sheets. Our calculations predict that Z-carbon is a transparent wide band gap semiconductor with a hardness comparable to diamond.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗