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β-Eucryptite (LiAlSiO4) shows anisotropic thermal expansion as well as one-dimensional super-ionic conductivity. We have performed the lattice dynamical calculations using ab-initio density functional theory along with inelastic neutron scattering measurements. The anisotropic stress dependence of the phonon spectrum is calculated to obtain the thermal expansion behavior along various axes. The calculations show that the Gruneisen parameters of the low-energy phonon modes around 10 meV have large negative values and govern the negative thermal expansion behavior at low temperatures along both the “a”- and “c”-axes. On the other hand, anisotropic elasticity along with anisotropic positive values of the Gruneisen parameters of the high-energy modes in the range 30–70 meV are responsible for the thermal expansion at high temperatures, which is positive in the a-b plane and negative along the c-axis. The analysis of the polarization vectors of the phonon modes sheds light on the mechanism of the anomalous the...

We report inelastic neutron scattering measurements of the phonon spectra in a pure powder sample of the multiferroic material BiFeO3. A high-temperature range was covered to unravel the changes in the phonon dynamics across the Neel (T_N ~ 650 K) and Curie (T_C ~ 1100 K) temperatures. Experimental results are accompanied by ab-initio lattice dynamical simulations of phonon density of states to enable microscopic interpretations of the observed data. The calculations reproduce well the observed vibrational features and provide the partial atomic vibrational components. Our results reveal clearly the signature of three different phase transitions both in the diffraction patterns and phonon spectra. The phonon modes are found to be most affected by the transition at the T_C. The spectroscopic evidence for the existence of a different structural modification just below the decomposition limit (T_D ~ 1240 K) is unambiguous indicating strong structural changes that may be related to oxygen vacancies and concomitant Fe3+ to Fe2+ reduction and spin transition.