title: Superconductivity in Bismuth. A New Look at an Old Problem.
abstract: To investigate the relationship between atomic topology, vibrational and electronic properties and superconductivity of bismuth, a 216-atom amorphous structure (a-Bi216) was computer-generated using our undermelt-quench approach. Its pair distribution function compares well with experiment. The calculated electronic and vibrational densities of states (eDOS and vDOS, respectively) show that the amorphous eDOS is about 4 times the crystalline at the Fermi energy, whereas for the vDOS the energy range of the amorphous is roughly the same as the crystalline but the shapes are quite different. A simple BCS estimate of the possible crystalline superconducting transition temperature gives an upper limit of 1.3 mK. The e-ph coupling is more preponderant in a-Bi than in crystalline bismuth (x-Bi) as indicated by the λ obtained via McMillan's formula, λc = 0.24 and experiment λa = 2.46. Therefore with respect to x-Bi, superconductivity in a-Bi is enhanced by the higher values of λ and of eDOS at the Fermi energy.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Materia Condensada y Criogenia, Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F., México.
authors.forename: Zaahel
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mata-Pinzón
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Materia Condensada y Criogenia, Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F., México.
authors.forename: Ariel A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Valladares
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F., México.
authors.forename: Renela M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Valladares
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F., México.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valladares
mesh_terms: D001729:Bismuth; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D008962:Models, Theoretical
chemical_list: D001729:Bismuth
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