Emerging superconductivity rules in rare-earth and alkaline-earth metal hydrides.

ABSTRACT: Hydrides of alkaline-earth and rare-earth metals have garnered significant interest in high-temperature superconductor research due to their excellent electron-phonon coupling and high T _c upon pressurization. This study explores the electronic structures and electron-phonon coupling of metal hydrides XH_n (n = 4,6), where X includes Ca, Mg, Sc, and Y. The involvement of d-orbital electrons alters the Fermi surface, leading to saddle-point nesting and a charge density wave (CDW) phase transition, which opens the superconducting gap. For instance, in YH₆, the exchange coupling between Y-4d and H-1s holes in the phonon softening region results in T _c values up to 230 K. The study suggests that factors, such as the

SUBMITTER: Tao YL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11342274 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature