Abstract:
PuCoGa5 is a newly discovered Pu-based superconductor with an astonishingly high Tc of 18.5K. Before this discovery, no Pu-based superconductors were known and other actinide super- conductors have Tc's mostly below 2K. We investigate the electronic structure of PuCoGa5 and related compounds using full-potential, relativistic band-structure calculations. The computed theoretical lattice parameters are very near to the measured parameters. The material appears to be close to a magnetic phase and the theoretical Fermi surface is quasi-two- dimensional. The localization behavior of the Pu 5f states and the possibility of unconventional superconductivity are discussed.