Electronic Structure and Vibrational Stability of Copper-substituted Lead Apatite (LK-99)

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Cabezas-Escares, J., Barrera, N. F., Lavroff, R. H., Alexandrova, A. N., Cardenas, C., Munoz, F.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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author Cabezas-Escares, J.
Barrera, N. F.
Lavroff, R. H.
Alexandrova, A. N.
Cardenas, C.
Munoz, F.
author_facet Cabezas-Escares, J.
Barrera, N. F.
Lavroff, R. H.
Alexandrova, A. N.
Cardenas, C.
Munoz, F.
contents Two recent preprints in the physics archive (arXiv) have called attention as they claim experimental evidence that a Cu-substituted apatite material (dubbed LK-99) exhibits superconductivity at room temperature and pressure. If this proves to be true, LK-99 will be a ``holy grail" of superconductors. In this work, we used Density Functional Theory (DFT+U) calculations to elucidate some key features of the electronic structure of LK-99. We find two different phases of this material: (i) a hexagonal lattice featuring metallic half-filled and spin-split bands, a nesting of the Fermi surface, a remarkably large electron-phonon coupling, but this lattice is vibrationally unstable. (ii) a triclinic lattice, with the Cu and surrounding O distorted. This lattice is vibrationally stable and its bands correspond to an insulator. In a crystal, the Cu atoms should oscillate between equivalent triclinic positions, with an average close to the hexagonal positions. We discuss the electronic structure expected from these fluctuations and if it is compatible with superconductivity.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2308_01135
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Electronic Structure and Vibrational Stability of Copper-substituted Lead Apatite (LK-99)
Cabezas-Escares, J.
Barrera, N. F.
Lavroff, R. H.
Alexandrova, A. N.
Cardenas, C.
Munoz, F.
Superconductivity
Materials Science
Two recent preprints in the physics archive (arXiv) have called attention as they claim experimental evidence that a Cu-substituted apatite material (dubbed LK-99) exhibits superconductivity at room temperature and pressure. If this proves to be true, LK-99 will be a ``holy grail" of superconductors. In this work, we used Density Functional Theory (DFT+U) calculations to elucidate some key features of the electronic structure of LK-99. We find two different phases of this material: (i) a hexagonal lattice featuring metallic half-filled and spin-split bands, a nesting of the Fermi surface, a remarkably large electron-phonon coupling, but this lattice is vibrationally unstable. (ii) a triclinic lattice, with the Cu and surrounding O distorted. This lattice is vibrationally stable and its bands correspond to an insulator. In a crystal, the Cu atoms should oscillate between equivalent triclinic positions, with an average close to the hexagonal positions. We discuss the electronic structure expected from these fluctuations and if it is compatible with superconductivity.
title Electronic Structure and Vibrational Stability of Copper-substituted Lead Apatite (LK-99)
topic Superconductivity
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.01135