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Effect of low-temperature compression on superconductivity and crystal structure in strontium metal

ORAL

Abstract

The superconducting and structural properties of elemental strontium metal were investigated under pressures up to 60 GPa while maintaining cryogenic conditions during pressure application. Applying pressure at low temperatures reveals differences in superconducting and structural phases compared to previous reports obtained at room temperatures. Notably, the superconducting critical temperature exhibits a twofold increase under compression after cryogenic cooling within the pressure range of 35-42 GPa, compared to cryogenic cooling after room-temperature compression. Subsequently, the transition width becomes significantly sharper above 42 GPa. Low-temperature X-ray diffraction measurements under pressure reveal that this change corresponds to the Sr-III to Sr-IV transition, with no evidence of any metastable structure. Furthermore, the monoclinic Sr-IV structure was observed to remain stable to much higher pressures - at least up to 60 GPa, without the appearance of the incommensurate Sr-V phase present at room temperature. This implies that thermal activation energy plays an important role in overcoming the presence of a kinetic barrier to the Sr-V phase at room temperature.

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Presenters

  • Jinhyuk Lim

    University of Florida, Department of Physics, Eastern Illinois University

Authors

  • Jinhyuk Lim

    University of Florida, Department of Physics, Eastern Illinois University

  • Shubham Sinha

    University of Florida, Department of Physics, University of Florida

  • Daniel E Jackson

    Department of Physics, University of Florida

  • Ravhi S Kumar

    Department of Physics, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA, University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Physics, University of Illinois Chicago

  • Changyong Park

    HPCAT, X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA, HPCAT, X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory

  • Russell J Hemley

    University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Illinois Chicago, Departments of Physics, Chemistry, and Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA, Departments of Physics, Chemistry, and Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago

  • Derrick VanGennep

    Department of Physics, University of Florida

  • Yogesh K Vohra

    University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Physics, University of Alabama at Birmingham

  • Richard G Hennig

    University of Florida, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Florida

  • Peter J Hirschfeld

    University of Florida, Department of Physics, University of Florida

  • Gregory R Stewart

    University of Florida, Department of Physics, University of Florida

  • James J Hamlin

    University of Florida, Department of Physics, University of Florida