First-principles simulations of lithium melting: stability of the bcc phase close to melting

Double-Shock Compression Pathways from Diamond to BC8 Carbon

Carbon is one of the most important elements for both industrial applications and fundamental research, including life, physics, chemistry, materials, and even planetary science. Although theoretical predictions on the transition from diamond to the BC8 (Ia3[over ¯]) carbon were made more than thirty years ago, after tremendous experimental efforts, direct evidence for the existence of BC8 carbon is still lacking. In this study, a machine learning potential was developed for high-pressure carbon fitted from first-principles calculations, which exhibited great capabilities in modeling the melting and Hugoniot line. Using the molecular dynamics based on this machine learning potential, we designed a thermodynamic pathway that is achievable for the double shock compression experiment to obtain the elusive BC8 carbon. Diamond was compressed up to 584 GPa after the first shock at 20.5  km/s. Subsequently, in the second shock compression at 24.8 or 25.0  km/s, diamond was compressed to a supercooled liquid and then solidified to BC8 in around 1 ns. Furthermore, the critical nucleus size and nucleation rate of BC8 were calculated, which are crucial for nano-second x-ray diffraction measurements to observe BC8 carbon during shock compressions. The key to obtaining BC8 carbon lies in the formation of liquid at a sufficient supercooling. Our work provides a feasible pathway by which the long-sought BC8 phase of carbon can be reached in experiments.

Data-driven prediction of complex crystal structures of dense lithium

Lithium (Li) is a prototypical simple metal at ambient conditions, but exhibits remarkable changes in structural and electronic properties under compression. There has been intense debate about the structure of dense Li, and recent experiments offered fresh evidence for yet undetermined crystalline phases near the enigmatic melting minimum region in the pressure-temperature phase diagram of Li. Here, we report on an extensive exploration of the energy landscape of Li using an advanced crystal structure search method combined with a machine-learning approach, which greatly expands the scale of structure search, leading to the prediction of four complex Li crystal structures containing up to 192 atoms in the unit cell that are energetically competitive with known Li structures. These findings provide a viable solution to the observed yet unidentified crystalline phases of Li, and showcase the predictive power of the global structure search method for discovering complex crystal structures in conjunction with accurate machine learning potentials.

Nuclear Quantum Effects on the Charge-Density Wave Transition in NbX2 (X = S, Se)

Understanding the origin of charge-density wave (CDW) instability is important for manipulating novel collective electronic states. Many layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) share similarity in the structural and electronic instability, giving rise to diverse CDW phases and superconductivity. It is still puzzling that even isostructural and isoelectronic TMDs show distinct CDW features. For instance, bulk NbSe₂ exhibits CDW order at low temperature, while bulk NbS₂ displays no CDW instability. The CDW transitions in single-layer NbS₂ and NbSe₂ are also different. In the classic limit, we investigate the electron correlation effects on the dimensionality dependence of the CDW ordering. By performing ab initio path integral molecular dynamics simulations and comparative analyses, we further revealed significant nuclear quantum effects in these systems. Specifically, the quantum motion of sulfur anions significantly reduces the CDW transition temperature in both bulk and single-layer NbS₂, resulting in distinct CDW features in the NbS₂ and NbSe₂ systems.

Ab initioinvestigation of the temperature-dependent elastic properties of Bi, Te and Cu

Using density functional theory andab initiomolecular dynamics, we have investigated the elastic properties of Bi, Te and Cu as a function of temperature. We compare calculated quantities which can be used to determine the effectiveness of our proposed method, such as the bulk (K), shear (G), and Young's (E) moduli. We also computed Poisson's ratio (ν) and the Pugh ratio (γ) for each of these materials at different temperatures to investigate changes in ductility. We have used the elastic moduli to calculate the Debye temperatureθDand minimum thermal conductivitykminof these materials as a function of temperature. We found that the elastic properties calculated in this work are in good agreement with experimental work. The inclusion of temperature effects has allowed for the proper prediction of ductility for each of these materials, a feat that standard density functional theory calculations has previously been unable to accomplish for Bi and Te.

Stability of H3O at extreme conditions and implications for the magnetic fields of Uranus and Neptune

The anomalous nondipolar and nonaxisymmetric magnetic fields of Uranus and Neptune have long challenged conventional views of planetary dynamos. A thin-shell dynamo conjecture captures the observed phenomena but leaves unexplained the fundamental material basis and underlying mechanism. Here we report extensive quantum-mechanical calculations of polymorphism in the hydrogen-oxygen system at the pressures and temperatures of the deep interiors of these ice giant planets (to >600 GPa and 7,000 K). The results reveal the surprising stability of solid and fluid trihydrogen oxide (H₃O) at these extreme conditions. Fluid H₃O is metallic and calculated to be stable near the cores of Uranus and Neptune. As a convecting fluid, the material could give rise to the magnetic field consistent with the thin-shell dynamo model proposed for these planets. H₃O could also be a major component in both solid and superionic forms in other (e.g., nonconvecting) layers. The results thus provide a materials basis for understanding the enigmatic magnetic-field anomalies and other aspects of the interiors of Uranus and Neptune. These findings have direct implications for the internal structure, composition, and dynamos of related exoplanets.

High-Pressure Melt Curve and Phase Diagram of Lithium

We investigate the phase diagram of lithium at temperatures of 200 to 400 K, to pressures over 100 GPa using x-ray diffraction in diamond anvil cells, covering the region in which the melting curve is disputed. To overcome degradation of the diamond anvils by dense lithium we utilize a rapid compression scheme taking advantage of the high flux available at modern synchrotrons. Our results show the hR1 and cI16 phases to be stable to higher temperature than previously reported. The melting minima of lithium is found to be close to room temperature between 40 and 60 GPa, below which the solid is crystalline. Analysis of the stability fields of the cI16 and oC88 phases suggest the existence of a triple point between these and an undetermined solid phase at 60 GPa between 220 and 255 K.

Melting Si: Beyond Density Functional Theory

The melting point of silicon in the cubic diamond phase is calculated using the random phase approximation (RPA). The RPA includes exact exchange as well as an approximate treatment of local as well as nonlocal many body correlation effects of the electrons. We predict a melting temperature of about 1735 and 1640 K without and with core polarization effects, respectively. Both values are within 3% of the experimental melting temperature of 1687 K. In comparison, the commonly used gradient approximation to density functional theory predicts a melting point that is 200 K too low, and hybrid functionals overestimate the melting point by 150 K. We correlate the predicted melting point with the energy difference between cubic diamond and the beta-tin phase of silicon, establishing that this energy difference is an important benchmark for the development of approximate functionals. The current results demonstrate that the RPA can be used to predict accurate finite temperature properties and underlines the excellent predictive properties of the RPA for condensed matter.

Quantum and isotope effects in lithium metal

The crystal structure of elements at zero pressure and temperature is the most fundamental information in condensed matter physics. For decades it has been believed that lithium, the simplest metallic element, has a complicated ground-state crystal structure. Using synchrotron x-ray diffraction in diamond anvil cells and multiscale simulations with density functional theory and molecular dynamics, we show that the previously accepted martensitic ground state is metastable. The actual ground state is face-centered cubic (fcc). We find that isotopes of lithium, under similar thermal paths, exhibit a considerable difference in martensitic transition temperature. Lithium exhibits nuclear quantum mechanical effects, serving as a metallic intermediate between helium, with its quantum effect-dominated structures, and the higher-mass elements. By disentangling the quantum kinetic complexities, we prove that fcc lithium is the ground state, and we synthesize it by decompression.

Alternative first-principles calculation of entropy for liquids

We present an alternative method for interpreting the velocity autocorrelation function (VACF) of a fluid with application to extracting the entropy in a manner similar to the methods developed by Lin et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 119, 11792 (2003)]JCPSA60021-960610.1063/1.1624057 and improved upon by Desjarlais [Phys. Rev. E 88, 062145 (2013)]PLEEE81539-375510.1103/PhysRevE.88.062145. The liquid VACF is decomposed into two components, one gas and one solid, and each contribution's entropic portion is calculated. However, we fit both the gas and solid portions of the VACF in the time domain. This approach is applied to a single-component liquid (a two-phase model of liquid Al at the melt line) and two different two-component systems: a superionic-to-superionic (bcc to fcc) phase transition in H_{2}O at high temperatures and pressures and a metastable liquid state of MgO. For all three examples, comparisons to existing results in the literature demonstrate the validity of our alternative.

Ab initio molecular dynamic study of solid-state transitions of ammonium nitrate

High-pressure polymorphism and phase transitions have wide ranging consequences on the basic properties of ammonium nitrate. However, the phase diagram of ammonium nitrate at high pressure and high temperature is still under debate. This study systematically investigates the phase transitions and structural properties of ammonium nitrate at a pressure range of 5-60 GPa and temperature range of 250-400 K by ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. Two new phases are identified: one corresponds to the experimentally observed phase IV' and the other is named AN-X. Simultaneously, the lattice strains play a significant role in the formation and stabilization of phase IV', providing a reasonable explanation for experimental observation of phase IV-IV' transition which only appears under nonhydrostatic pressure. In addition, 12 O atoms neighboring the NH (N atom in ammonium cation) atom are selected as reference system to clearly display the tanglesome rotation of ammonium cation.

First-principles calculation of entropy for liquid metals

We demonstrate the accurate calculation of entropies and free energies for a variety of liquid metals using an extension of the two-phase thermodynamic (2PT) model based on a decomposition of the velocity autocorrelation function into gas-like (hard sphere) and solid-like (harmonic) subsystems. The hard sphere model for the gas-like component is shown to give systematically high entropies for liquid metals as a direct result of the unphysical Lorentzian high-frequency tail. Using a memory function framework we derive a generally applicable velocity autocorrelation and frequency spectrum for the diffusive component which recovers the low-frequency (long-time) behavior of the hard sphere model while providing for realistic short-time coherence and high-frequency tails to the spectrum. This approach provides a significant increase in the accuracy of the calculated entropies for liquid metals and is compared to ambient pressure data for liquid sodium, aluminum, gallium, tin, and iron. The use of this method for the determination of melt boundaries is demonstrated with a calculation of the high-pressure bcc melt boundary for sodium. With the significantly improved accuracy available with the memory function treatment for softer interatomic potentials, the 2PT model for entropy calculations should find broader application in high energy density science, warm dense matter, planetary science, geophysics, and material science.

Superionic to superionic phase change in water: consequences for the interiors of uranus and neptune

Using density functional molecular dynamics free energy calculations, we show that the body centered cubic (bcc) phase of superionic ice previously believed to be the only phase is, in fact, thermodynamically unstable compared to a novel phase with oxygen positions in face centered cubic lattice sites. The novel phase has a lower proton mobility than the bcc phase and may exhibit a higher melting temperature. We predict a transition between the two phases at a pressure of 1±0.5  Mbar, with potential consequences for the interiors of ice giants such as Uranus and Neptune.

Proton or deuteron transfer in phase IV of solid hydrogen and deuterium

The recent discovery of phase IV of solid hydrogen and deuterium consisting of two alternate layers of graphenelike three-molecule rings and unbound H2 molecules have generated great interest. However, the vibrational nature of phase IV remains poorly understood. Here, we report a peculiar proton or deuteron transfer and a simultaneous rotation of three-molecule rings in graphenelike layers predicted by ab initio variable-cell molecular dynamics simulations for phase IV of solid hydrogen and deuterium at pressure ranges of 250-350 GPa and temperature range of 300-500 K. This proton or deuteron transfer is intimately related to the particular elongation of molecules in graphenelike layers, and it becomes more pronounced with increasing pressure at the course of larger elongation of molecules. As the consequence of proton transfer, hydrogen molecules in graphenelike layers are short lived and hydrogen vibration is strongly anharmonic. Our findings provide direct explanations on the observed abrupt increase of Raman width at the formation of phase IV and its large increase with pressure.

Room-temperature structures of solid hydrogen at high pressures

By employing first-principles metadynamics simulations, we explore the 300 K structures of solid hydrogen over the pressure range 150-300 GPa. At 200 GPa, we find the ambient-pressure disordered hexagonal close-packed (hcp) phase transited into an insulating partially ordered hcp phase (po-hcp), a mixture of ordered graphene-like H(2) layers and the other layers of weakly coupled, disordered H(2) molecules. Within this phase, hydrogen remains in paired states with creation of shorter intra-molecular bonds, which are responsible for the very high experimental Raman peak above 4000 cm(-1). At 275 GPa, our simulations predicted a transformation from po-hcp into the ordered molecular metallic Cmca phase (4 molecules/cell) that was previously proposed to be stable only above 400 GPa. Gibbs free energy calculations at 300 K confirmed the energetic stabilities of the po-hcp and metallic Cmca phases over all known structures at 220-242 GPa and >242 GPa, respectively. Our simulations highlighted the major role played by temperature in tuning the phase stabilities and provided theoretical support for claimed metallization of solid hydrogen below 300 GPa at 300 K.

Lattice dynamics of dense lithium

We report low-frequency high-resolution Raman spectroscopy and ab-initio calculations on dense lithium from 40 to 200 GPa at low temperatures. Our experimental results reveal rich first-order Raman activity in the metallic and semiconducting phases of lithium. The computed Raman frequencies are in excellent agreement with the measurements. Free energy calculations provide a quantitative description and physical explanation of the experimental phase diagram only when vibrational effect are correctly treated. The study underlines the importance of zero-point energy in determining the phase stability of compressed lithium.

Thermal expansion of supported and freestanding graphene: lattice constant versus interatomic distance

By using ab initio molecular dynamics calculations, we show that even where the graphene lattice constant contracts, as previously reported for freestanding graphene below room temperature, the average carbon-carbon distance increases with temperature, in both free and supported graphene. This results in a larger corrugation at higher temperature, which can affect the interaction between graphene and the supporting substrate. For a weakly interacting system as graphene/Ir(111), we confirm the results using an experimental approach which gives direct access to interatomic distances.