Sodium: A Charge-Transfer Insulator at High Pressures
Title | Sodium: A Charge-Transfer Insulator at High Pressures |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2010 |
Gatti, M, Tokatly, IV, Rubio, A | |
Journal | Physical Review Letters |
Volume | 104 |
Pagination | 216404 |
Date Published | 2010/May// |
Keywords | paper |
Abstract | By first-principles methods we analyze the optical response of transparent dense sodium as a function of applied pressure. We discover an unusual kind of charge-transfer exciton that proceeds from the interstitial distribution of valence electrons. The absorption spectrum is strongly anisotropic, which, just at pressures above the metal-insulator transition, manifests as sodium being optically transparent in one direction but reflective in the other. This result provides key information about the crystal structure of transparent sodium, a new unconventional inorganic electride. |
URL | http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.216404 |
Acknowledgements | none |
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