Cubic H3S around 200 GPa: An atomic hydrogen superconductor stabilized by sulfur

The multiple scattering-based theory of Gaspari and Gyorffy for the electron-ion matrix element in close packed metals is applied to Im3¯mH3S, which has been predicted by Duan et al. and Bernstein et al. to be the stable phase at this stoichiometry around 190 GPa, thus is the leading candidate to be the phase observed to superconduct at 190 K by Drozdov, Eremets, and Troyan. The nearly perfect separation of vibrational modes into those of S and of H character provides a simplification that enables identification of contributions of the two atoms separately. The picture that arises is basically that of superconducting atomic H stabilized by strong covalent mixing with S p and d character. The reported isotope shift is much larger than the theoretical one, suggesting there is large anharmonicity in the H vibrations. Given the relative unimportance of sulfur, hydrides of lighter atoms at similarly high pressures may also lead to high temperature superconductivity.

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Author Michael J Mehl Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materia ...