Electronic structure, optical and thermodynamic properties of orthorhombic UCoGe under pressure

Abstract

The electronic structures, optical and thermodynamic properties of orthorhombic UCoGe are investigated using the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) formalism in the framework of the density functional theory (DFT). The obtained lattice parameters, bulk modulus B and its pressure derivative B′ of UCoGe are in agreement with the available experimental data. From the analysis of band structure and density of states coming out from our calculations, we can see that UCoGe in the ground state belongs to a typical metallic alloy. Various optical properties, including the dielectric function and absorption coefficient as functions of the photon energy are calculated. The thermodynamic properties of UCoGe are predicted using the quasi-harmonic Debye model for the first time. The Debye temperature, the Grüneisen parameter, the heat capacity and the thermal expansion coefficient are obtained at high pressures and temperatures.