Abstract
We describe a classical thermodynamic model that reproduces the main features of the solid hydrogen phase diagram. In particular, we show how the general structure types that are found by electronic structure calculations and the quantum nature of the protons can also be understood from a classical viewpoint. The model provides a picture not only of crystal structure, but also for the anomalous melting curve and insights into isotope effects, liquid metallisation and InfraRed activity. The existence of a classical picture for this most quantum of condensed matter systems provides a surprising extension of the correspondence principle of quantum mechanics, in particular the equivalent effects of classical and quantum uncertainty.
Highlights
We describe a classical thermodynamic model that reproduces the main features of the solid hydrogen phase diagram
We identify three recurrent motifs from which we build a “big picture” understanding of the thermodynamics of the phase diagram, including metallization and isotope effects
Theoretical predictions of high pressure phases are based on density functional calculations (DFT) using the PBE functional
Summary
We describe a classical thermodynamic model that reproduces the main features of the solid hydrogen phase diagram. At low pressure Phase I comprises quantum rotor molecules in a close packed structure. At higher pressure Phase III is reported as a layered structure with weakly bonded molecules[17, 21, 34, 35].
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