Melting curves of metals by ab initio calculations*

In this work we used several ab initio approaches to reproduce melting curves and discussed their abilities, advantages and drawbacks. We used quasiharmonic appoximation and Lindemann criterion to build melting curves in wide region of pressures. This approach allows to calculate the total free energy of electrons and phonons, so it is possible to obtain all thermodynamic properties in the crystalline state. We also used quantum molecular dynamics simulations to investigate melting at various pressures. We explored the size-effect of the heat until it melts (HUM) method in detail. Special attention was paid to resolve the boundaries of the melting region on density. All calculations were performed for aluminum, copper and gold. Results were in good agreement with available experimental data. Also we studied the influence of electronic temperature on melting curves. It turned out that the melting temperature increased with the rise of electron temperature at normal density and had non-monotonic behavior at higher densities.