High-temperature superconductivity on the verge of a structural instability in lanthanum superhydride
Abstract
The possibility of high, room-temperature superconductivity was predicted for metallic hydrogen in the 1960s. However, metallization and superconductivity of hydrogen are yet to be unambiguously demonstrated and may require pressures as high as 5 million atmospheres. Rare earth based “superhydrides”, such as LaH10, can be considered as a close approximation of metallic hydrogen even though they form at moderately lower pressures. In superhydrides the predominance of H-H metallic bonds and high superconducting transition temperatures bear the hallmarks of metallic hydrogen. Still, experimental studies revealing the key factors controlling their superconductivity are scarce. Here, we report the pressure and magnetic field dependence of the superconducting order observed in LaH10. We determine that the high-symmetry high-temperature superconducting Fm-3m phase of LaH10 can be stabilized at substantially lower pressures than previously thought. We find a remarkable correlation between superconductivity and a structural instability indicating that lattice vibrations, responsible for the monoclinic structural distortions in LaH10, strongly affect the superconducting coupling.
- Authors:
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Florida State Univ., Tallahassee, FL (United States). National High Magnetic Field Lab. (MagLab); Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); National Science Foundation (NSF)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1832614
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1832532; OSTI ID: 1870630
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-20-26958
Journal ID: ISSN 2041-1723; 6863; PII: 26706
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0002613; FG02-94ER14466; AC02-06CH11357; 89233218CNA000001
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- Nature Communications
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Nature Communications Journal Volume: 12 Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2041-1723
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; High Temperature Superconductivity; superhydrides; electron-phonon coupling
Citation Formats
Sun, Dan, Minkov, Vasily S., Mozaffari, Shirin, Sun, Ying, Ma, Yanming, Chariton, Stella, Prakapenka, Vitali B., Eremets, Mikhail I., Balicas, Luis, and Balakirev, Fedor F. High-temperature superconductivity on the verge of a structural instability in lanthanum superhydride. United Kingdom: N. p., 2021.
Web. doi:10.1038/s41467-021-26706-w.
Sun, Dan, Minkov, Vasily S., Mozaffari, Shirin, Sun, Ying, Ma, Yanming, Chariton, Stella, Prakapenka, Vitali B., Eremets, Mikhail I., Balicas, Luis, & Balakirev, Fedor F. High-temperature superconductivity on the verge of a structural instability in lanthanum superhydride. United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26706-w
Sun, Dan, Minkov, Vasily S., Mozaffari, Shirin, Sun, Ying, Ma, Yanming, Chariton, Stella, Prakapenka, Vitali B., Eremets, Mikhail I., Balicas, Luis, and Balakirev, Fedor F. Thu .
"High-temperature superconductivity on the verge of a structural instability in lanthanum superhydride". United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26706-w.
@article{osti_1832614,
title = {High-temperature superconductivity on the verge of a structural instability in lanthanum superhydride},
author = {Sun, Dan and Minkov, Vasily S. and Mozaffari, Shirin and Sun, Ying and Ma, Yanming and Chariton, Stella and Prakapenka, Vitali B. and Eremets, Mikhail I. and Balicas, Luis and Balakirev, Fedor F.},
abstractNote = {The possibility of high, room-temperature superconductivity was predicted for metallic hydrogen in the 1960s. However, metallization and superconductivity of hydrogen are yet to be unambiguously demonstrated and may require pressures as high as 5 million atmospheres. Rare earth based “superhydrides”, such as LaH10, can be considered as a close approximation of metallic hydrogen even though they form at moderately lower pressures. In superhydrides the predominance of H-H metallic bonds and high superconducting transition temperatures bear the hallmarks of metallic hydrogen. Still, experimental studies revealing the key factors controlling their superconductivity are scarce. Here, we report the pressure and magnetic field dependence of the superconducting order observed in LaH10. We determine that the high-symmetry high-temperature superconducting Fm-3m phase of LaH10 can be stabilized at substantially lower pressures than previously thought. We find a remarkable correlation between superconductivity and a structural instability indicating that lattice vibrations, responsible for the monoclinic structural distortions in LaH10, strongly affect the superconducting coupling.},
doi = {10.1038/s41467-021-26706-w},
journal = {Nature Communications},
number = 1,
volume = 12,
place = {United Kingdom},
year = {Thu Nov 25 00:00:00 EST 2021},
month = {Thu Nov 25 00:00:00 EST 2021}
}
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26706-w
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