2001/10/15 by I. I. Mazin, D. A. Papaconstantopoulos, Michael J. Mehl +1 · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #High-pressure geophysics and materials #Iron-based superconductors research #Rare-earth and actinide compounds #cond-mat.supr-con
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.65.100511
published as Phys. Rev. B, Rapid. Comm., 65, 100511(R), 2002. · 4 pages, revtex, 3 figs embedded
arxiv created 2001/10/15 · openalex publication_date 2002/02/26 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The recent discovery of superconductivity in hexagonal iron under pressure poses a question about whether it is of conventional (phonon) or unconventional (magnetic) origin. We present first-principles calculations of the electron-phonon coupling in iron at P\ensuremath\gtrsim15 GPa, and argue that a conventional mechanism can explain the appearance of superconductivity, but not its rapid disappearance at P\ensuremath\gtrsim30 GPa. We suggest that spin fluctuations, ferro- and/or antiferromagnetic, play a crucial role in superconductivity in this case.