High-pressure vibrational properties of dense rubidium

Year: 2018

Authors: Santoro M., Colognesi D., Monserrat B., Gregoryanz E., Ulivi L., Gorelli FA.

Autors Affiliation: CNR, INO, Natl Inst Opt, Via N Carrara 1, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; LENS, Via N Carrara 1, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; CNR, IFAC, Inst Appl Phys, Via Madonna del Piano 10, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; Univ Cambridge, Cavendish Lab, TCM Grp, JJ Thomson Ave, Cambridge CB3 0HE, England; Univ Edinburgh, Ctr Sci Extreme Condit, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ, Midlothian, Scotland; Univ Edinburgh, Sch Phys & Astron, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ, Midlothian, Scotland.

Abstract: At ambient conditions, alkali metals adopt the body centered cubic structure, while if compressed up to tens of GPa and above, they exhibit complex low-symmetry modifications, due to the density-driven transition of the valence electrons from the s state to states of higher angular momentum. These high-pressure, low-symmetry phases, whose unit cells may include up to tens of atoms, allow rich Raman activity, which was previously observed only in lighter alkalis Na and Li. Here we report an extensive study of the optical phonons of highly dense Rb up to 100 GPa in diamond anvil cells, conducted by challenging experimental Raman spectroscopy measurements and ab initio computer simulations. The relative (relative to the normal condition value) density behavior of Raman frequencies of Rb is compared to that of Na and Li, once the frequencies of the two light alkali elements have been rescaled by root M-Na/M-Rb and root M-Li/M-Rb, respectively, where M-Na, M-Li, and M-Rb are the atomic masses of the here considered alkali elements. Importantly, while the rescaled density behaviors of Na and Li agree with each other, Rb significantly differs, which highlights the different nature of the valence electron transition being of the s-d and of the s-p type in heavy and light alkali metals, respectively, a result that calls for further similar investigations of K and Cs.

Journal/Review: PHYSICAL REVIEW B

Volume: 98 (10)      Pages from: 104107-1  to: 104107-7

More Information: We acknowledge the PRIN project ZAPPING, No. 2015HK93L7, granted by the Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Universita e della Ricerca, MIUR, supporting our research in high-pressure materials science. L. U. and D.C. acknowledge support from the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze. B.M. acknowledges support from the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability, and from Robinson College, Cambridge, and the Cambridge Philosophical Society for a Henslow Research Fellowship.
KeyWords: Crystal-structure; Phase; Rb; Transition; Potassium; Metals; Sodium; Iv
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.98.104107

Citations: 1
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