Lattice Dynamics and Electron-Phonon Coupling of the Light-Actinides Pa-U Alloy

We have studied the vibrational and electron-phonon (e-ph) coupling properties of the Pa_1-xU_x actinide alloy. This system have been analyzed within the framework of density functional perturbation theory, using a mixed-basis pseudopotential method and the virtual crystal approximation (VCA) for modeling the alloy. The energetics of the system is analyzed as the ground-state crystal structure is changed form bct (Pa) to orthorhombic (U). In particular, the full-phonon dispersion as well as the Eliashberg spectral function (α²F(ω)) and the electron-phonon coupling (λ) parameter have been calculated for specific U-content (x), and their evolution analyzed as x changes from Pa(x=0) to U(x=1). Our results are discussed on the light of available experimental data.