Effect of pressure on the bandstructure and superconductivity in lutetium

The detailed bandstructure and superconducting behaviour of lutetium at 230 kbar pressure is reported here. The electronic contribution eta to the electron-phonon mass enhancement lambda is studied within the rigid muffin-tin (RMT) approximation. The pd and df matrix elements are expressed in terms of 'd' bandwidth, Fermi energy and muffin-tin zero. The variations of Grueneisen parameter and Debye temperature with pressure are studied and applied in the calculation of Tsub(c). The calculated Tsub(c) value agrees fairly well with the experimental value. The changes in the conduction bandwidth and the electronic specific heat coefficient with pressure are found to be in agreement with theoretical prediction. (author)