Superconductivity in arsenic at high pressures

We have investigated the pressure dependence of the superconducting transition temperature ${\mathit{T}}_{\mathit{c}}$ of elemental arsenic up to 41 GPa both experimentally and theoretically. Our measurements indicate that a peak in ${\mathit{T}}_{\mathit{c}}$ occurs at the rhombohedral–simple-cubic structural phase transition. A first-principles calculation provides a physical description consistent with the observed behavior of ${\mathit{T}}_{\mathit{c}}$ under pressure.