The 6th International Conference on Matter and Radiation at Extremes (ICMRE2023)

235 / 2023-04-17 23:30:15

Superconductivity in high pressure hydrides

high pressure,superconductors

High Pressure Physics and Materials Science > Hydrogen and high-energy density material-II

The proposal by Neil Ashcroft that hydrogen-rich compounds could be high temperature phonon-mediated superconductors has sparked intense research efforts in the search for superconducting hydrides. Theoretically, structure prediction methods and superconductivity calculations have been used to propose a wide range of potential candidates. Experimentally, some of these compounds with high critical temperature have been observed, with a current record superconducting temperature for lanthanum hydride. However, both calculations and experiments are challenging, and the field remains controversial, with the most recent example being the claim of near-ambient conditions superconductivity in lutetium hydride.



In this talk, I will describe our recent work in modelling high pressure superconducting hydrides. I will show that current computational models are missing important ingredients for a complete understanding of these phases, highlighting the role of electronic correlation and of structural disorder. I will discuss these results in the context of lanthanide hydrides, as these compounds exhibit some of the highest confirmed and unconfirmed superconducting critical temperatures, with examples including lanthanum hydride and lutetium hydride.