Pressure-Induced Structure Transitions in Europium Metal to 92 GPa

ORAL

Abstract

Motivated by the recent discovery of pressure-induced superconductivity in Eu for pressures above 80 GPa [1], we have carried out high pressure angle-dispersive synchrotron x-ray diffraction measurements on Eu metal in a diamond anvil cell to 92 GPa. Our experiments confirm the bcc-to-hcp transition at 12 GPa reported in previous studies and identify two further phase transitions. The predictions of two independent density functional theory calculations are compared to the experimental results.\\[4pt] [1] M. Debessai, T. Matsuoka, J. J. Hamlin, J. S. Schilling, and K. Shimizu, Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{102}, 197002 (2009).

*This research is supported by NSF grant DMR-0703896 and by the Carnegie/DOE Alliance Center (CDAC) through NNSA/DOE grant number DE-FC52-08NA28554.

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Authors

  • W. Bi

    • Physics Department, Washington University in Saint Louis
    • Department of Physics, Washington University in Saint Louis

  • J. Schilling

    • Physics Department, Washington University in Saint Louis
    • Department of Physics, Washington University in Saint Louis

  • Y. Meng

    • HPCAT, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Argonne National Laboratory

  • R. Kumar

    • HiPSEC and Dep. Physics, University of Nevada Las Vegas
    • HiPSEC and Department of Physics, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

  • A. Cornelius

    • HiPSEC and Dep.Physics, University of Nevada Las Vegas
    • HiPSEC and Department of Physics, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

  • Y. Zhang

    • Physics Department and HiPSEC, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
    • HiPSEC and Department of Physics, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

  • C. Chen

    • HiPSEC and Department of Physics, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

  • R. Hennig

    • Cornell University
    • Cornell University, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
    • Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University