Raman scattering in osmium under pressure

The effect of pressure and temperature on the Raman-active phonon mode of osmium metal has been investigated for pressures up to 20 GPa and temperatures in the range 10--300 K. Under hydrostatic conditions (He pressure medium) the phonon frequency increases at a rate of 0.73(5) cm^{-1}/GPa (T = 300 K). A large temperature-induced and wavelength-dependent frequency shift of the phonon frequency is observed, of which only a small fraction can be associated with the thermal volume change. The main contribution to the temperature dependence of the phonon frequency is rather attributed to non-adiabatic effects in the electron-phonon interaction, which explains also the observation of an increasing phonon line width upon cooling. The phonon line width and the pressure-induced frequency shift were found to be unusually sensitive to shear stress.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Effect of pressure on the polarized infrared optical response of quasi-one-dimensional LaTiO3.41_{3.41}

The pressure-induced changes in the optical properties of the quasi-one-dimensional conductor LaTiO$_{3.41}$ were studied by polarization-dependent mid-infrared micro-spectroscopy at room temperature. For the polarization of the incident radiation parallel to the conducting direction, the optical conductivity spectrum shows a pronounced mid-infrared absorption band, exhibiting a shift to lower frequencies and an increase in oscillator strength with increasing pressure. On the basis of its pressure dependence, interpretations of the band in terms of electronic transitions and polaronic excitations are discussed. Discontinuous changes in the optical response near 15 GPa are in agreement with a recently reported pressure-induced structural phase transition and indicate the onset of a dimensional crossover in this highly anisotropic system.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Plasmons in Sodium under Pressure: Increasing Departure from Nearly-Free-Electron Behavior

We have measured plasmon energies in Na under high pressure up to 43 GPa using inelastic x-ray scattering (IXS). The momentum-resolved results show clear deviations, growing with increasing pressure, from the predictions for a nearly-free electron metal. Plasmon energy calculations based on first-principles electronic band structures and a quasi-classical plasmon model allow us to identify a pressure-induced increase in the electron-ion interaction and associated changes in the electronic band structure as the origin of these deviations, rather than effects of exchange and correlation. Additional IXS results obtained for K and Rb are addressed briefly.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Effect of pressure on the superconducting Tc of MgB2

Measurements of the superconducting transition temperature Tc have been performed by the inductive method on MgB2 at pressures up to 28 GPa. Tc decreases with applied pressure, exhibiting a cusp at about 9 GPa. We interpret the appearance of this anomaly in the Tc(P) dependence as a result of the pressure-induced electronic transition. Recent band-structure calculations for MgB2 give some support for such an explanation.Comment: 11 pages, including 4 figure

Calculated elastic and electronic properties of MgB2_2 at high pressures

The effect of high pressure on structural and electronic properties of the novel superconductor \MB has been calculated using the full-potential linearized augmented-plane-wave method. Despite the layered crystal structure of \MB nearly isotropic compression (bulk modulus $B_0=140.1(6)$ GPa) is found with only a 1.2% decrease of the $c/a$ ratio at 10 GPa. The effect of pressure on the critical temperature has been estimated on the basis of BCS theory and good agreement with experimental data is found. Our results suggest that it is a combination of increasing phonon frequency and decreasing electronic density of states at the Fermi level which leads to the observed decrease of the critical temperature under pressure.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures (EPS), Elsevier LaTeX. More detailed analysis of the pressure dependence of Tc; results unchanged. Manuscript accepted for publication in Solid State Commu

Dependence of the Superconducting Transition Temperature of MgB2 on Pressure to 20 GPa

The dependence of Tc on nearly hydrostatic pressure has been measured for an isotopically pure (11B) MgB2 sample in a helium-loaded diamond-anvil-cell to nearly 20 GPa. Tc decreases monotonically with pressure from 39.1 K at ambient pressure to 20.9 K at 19.2 GPa. The initial dependence is the same as that obtained earlier (dTc/dP = -1.11(2) K/GPa) on the same sample in a He-gas apparatus to 0.7 GPa. The observed pressure dependence Tc(P) to 20 GPa can be readily described in terms of simple lattice stiffening within standard phonon-mediated BCS superconductivity.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Lattice dynamics of incommensurate composite Rb-IV and a realization of the monatomic linear chain model

Longitudinal-acoustic (LA) phonons have been studied by inelastic x-ray scattering in the high-pressure incommensurate host-guest system Rb-IV in the pressure range of 16.3 to 18.4 GPa. Two LA-like phonon branches are observed along the direction of the incommensurate wave vector, which are attributed to separate lattice vibrations in the host and guest subsystems. The derived sound velocities for the host and the guest, nu(h) and nu(g), respectively, are similar in magnitude [nu(h)=nu(g)=3840(100) m/s at 18 GPa], but our results indicate rather different pressure dependences of dv(h)/dP=140(60) m/s GPa(-1) and d nu(g)/dP=280(80) m/s GPa(-1). The observations for the one-dimensional Rb guest chains are reproduced quantitatively on the basis of the monatomic linear chain model and the measured compressibility of the chains.</p

Chicago Recovery Partnership Evaluation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

From 2009-2011, the City of Chicago and Cook County received a total of $2.35 billion in funding provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act [ARRA]. The stimulus money was allocated to seven areas: education, basic needs, transportation and infrastructure, housing and energy, public safety, broadband and workforce development. The Chicago Recovery Partnership Evaluation of ARRA analyzes the impact of the stimulus spending using a costbenefit analysis framework. This report evaluated$1.09 billion of total spending in Chicago and Cook County, resulting in net benefits ranging from -$173.9 to$2,740.2 million. The wide range in net benefits is attributed largely to education, which received over half of ARRA funding