First-principles coexistence simulations of supercooled liquid silicon

Abstract

We perform first-principles coexistence simulations of the low-density and the high-density phases of supercooled liquid silicon and find a negative slope for the coexisting line in the temperature–pressure plane. Electron density maps and electron-localization function plots of the two phases of silicon show marked differences. The calculated differences suggest more localized electrons in the low-density liquid compared to the high-density liquid, coming from an increased population of covalent bonds, which further explain the calculated negative slope in the two phase coexistence regime. This is consistent with the presence of a pseudo-gap in low-density liquid silicon, absent in the high-density liquid which shows a metallic behavior.