The observation of bulk superconductivity in Rhombohedral ReO3 under pressure
Abstract
Understanding how lattice geometry enables superconductivity in oxides remains a central challenge. Here, we report a systematic study of ReO3 up to 80 GPa. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, electrical transport, dc magnetic susceptibility, and first-principles calculations establish a sequence of pressure-induced structural transitions, from cubic Pm-3m to Im-3 followed by the emergence of a rhombohedral R-3c phase accompanied by bulk superconductivity with a maximum Tc, onset ~17.5 K. DC magnetic susceptibility and trapped-flux magnetization measurements demonstrate that bulk superconductivity is confined to the pressure range where R-3c phase is dominant. Density functional theory calculations show strong electron-phonon coupling in the hR24-R-3c structure, with substantial contributions from both low-frequency Re vibrations and high-frequency oxygen-related phonon modes, yielding a calculated Tc comparable with the experiment. Upon further compression above ~35-40 GPa, powder X-ray diffraction results indicate a symmetry-lowering structural transition. Whereas the experimental diffraction patterns can be best described by a rhombohedral-derived R32-like average distortion with effective enlargement of the crystallographic unit cell, enthalpy calculations identify a lower-symmetry mP16-P2/c structure driven by phonon instability of the R-3c phase. This reconstructed higher-coordination phase has a reduced density of states at the Fermi level, weaker electron-phonon coupling, and a much lower calculated Tc, providing a microscopic explanation for the loss of bulk superconductivity in the higher-pressure phase. These results show that bulk superconductivity is stabilized within the rhombohedral structure, where pressure-induced lattice reconstruction supports enhanced electron-phonon coupling through cooperative Re-O lattice dynamics.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{huyan2026observation,
title = {{The observation of bulk superconductivity in Rhombohedral ReO3 under pressure}},
author = {S. Huyan and R. F. S. Penacchio and L-L. Wang and J. Schmidt and D. Zhang and B. Lavina and Z. Li and R. A. Ribeiro and T. J. Slade and J. Zhao and S. L. Morelhão and P. C. Canfield and S. L. Bud'ko},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.26628},
eprint = {2609.26628},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.26628},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - The observation of bulk superconductivity in Rhombohedral ReO3 under pressure
AU - S. Huyan
AU - R. F. S. Penacchio
AU - L-L. Wang
AU - J. Schmidt
AU - D. Zhang
AU - B. Lavina
AU - Z. Li
AU - R. A. Ribeiro
AU - T. J. Slade
AU - J. Zhao
AU - S. L. Morelhão
AU - P. C. Canfield
AU - S. L. Bud'ko
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/22
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.26628
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.26628
AB - Understanding how lattice geometry enables superconductivity in oxides remains a central challenge. Here, we report a systematic study of ReO3 up to 80 GPa. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, electrical transport, dc magnetic susceptibility, and first-principles calculations establish a sequence of pressure-induced structural transitions, from cubic Pm-3m to Im-3 followed by the emergence of a rhombohedral R-3c phase accompanied by bulk superconductivity with a maximum Tc, onset ~17.5 K. DC magnetic susceptibility and trapped-flux magnetization measurements demonstrate that bulk superconductivity is confined to the pressure range where R-3c phase is dominant. Density functional theory calculations show strong electron-phonon coupling in the hR24-R-3c structure, with substantial contributions from both low-frequency Re vibrations and high-frequency oxygen-related phonon modes, yielding a calculated Tc comparable with the experiment. Upon further compression above ~35-40 GPa, powder X-ray diffraction results indicate a symmetry-lowering structural transition. Whereas the experimental diffraction patterns can be best described by a rhombohedral-derived R32-like average distortion with effective enlargement of the crystallographic unit cell, enthalpy calculations identify a lower-symmetry mP16-P2/c structure driven by phonon instability of the R-3c phase. This reconstructed higher-coordination phase has a reduced density of states at the Fermi level, weaker electron-phonon coupling, and a much lower calculated Tc, providing a microscopic explanation for the loss of bulk superconductivity in the higher-pressure phase. These results show that bulk superconductivity is stabilized within the rhombohedral structure, where pressure-induced lattice reconstruction supports enhanced electron-phonon coupling through cooperative Re-O lattice dynamics.
ER -