Dynamical stability and superconductivity of (Ce,La)H9 under high pressure

Abstract

Recent experiments have shown that CeH9 and (Ce,La)H9 can be synthesized under high pressure between 90-170GPa and become a superconductor with a high value of superconducting critical temperature (Tc) between 100-200K. In this work, we performed a theoretical study of a (Ce,La)H9 compound where the Ce:La ratio is equal to 1. We used the density functional theory and the {\it ab initio} molecular dynamics (AIMD) method. From the phonon dispersion, there exist some unstable modes around the K-point phonons. Then, we performed AIMD simulation at around 203K and found that the compound becomes stable. The superconducting spectral function can be calculated. We found that $\lambda$ is as high as 3.0 at 200GPa. By using Allen-Dynes-modified McMillan equation in the strong coupling regime, we found that Tc = 87K at 200GPa.

5 pages, 4 figures