Statistical Material Law Support for Room Temperature Superconductivity in the Lead Apatite System

TL;DR

This paper uses quantum mechanical calculations and a material dependence law to suggest that lead apatite could support room temperature superconductivity due to its electronic structure and orbital interactions.

Contribution

It introduces a statistical material law linking bandwidth to superconductivity, applied to predict RT superconductivity in lead apatite based on orbital coupling analysis.

Findings

Similar orbital coupling to copper oxide systems

Larger bandwidth than existing copper oxide superconductors

Potential for RT superconductivity in lead apatite

Abstract

Quantum mechanics calculations of an electronic orbital coupling distribution of the new possible Room Temperature (RT) system of lead apatite Pb10(PO4)6O system show that the complex orbital coupling characteristics of the new system are similar to those of copper oxide and with multiple orbital interactions. The overall bandwidth is significantly larger than the current largest copper oxide system, which can also be compared to near RT high-pressure hydride systems. By applying a material dependence law relating overall bandwidth to superconducting critical temperature across various typical superconducting systems, we predict that the electronic structure of the new material can support achieving RT superconductivity in the condition of a flatter band.