Superconductivity caused by the pairing of plutonium 5f electrons in PuCoGa5 -: art. no. 157001

On the basis of electronic structure calculations we identify the superconductivity in the novel, high-temperature superconductor PuCoGa5 to be caused by the pairing of Pu 5f electrons. Assuming delocalized Pu 5f states, we compute theoretical crystallographic constants very near to the experimental ones, and the calculated specific heat coefficient compares reasonably to the measured coefficient. The theoretical Fermi surface is quasi-two-dimensional and the material appears to be close to a magnetic phase instability.