Electron-phonon coupling and superconductivity-induced distortion of the phonon lineshape in V3Si

Phonon measurements in the A15-type superconductors were complicated in the past because of the unavailability of large single crystals for inelastic neutron scattering, e.g., in the case of Nb3Sn, or unfavorable neutron scattering properties in the case of V3Si. Hence, only few studies of the lattice dynamical properties with momentum resolved methods were published, in particular below the superconducting transition temperature T-c. Here, we overcome these problems by employing inelastic x-ray scattering and report a combined experimental and theoretical investigation of lattice dynamics in V3Si with the focus on the temperature-dependent properties of low-energy acoustic phonon modes in several high-symmetry directions. We paid particular attention to the evolution of the soft phonon mode of the structural phase transition observed in our sample at T-s = 18.9 K, i.e., just above the measured superconducting phase transition at T-c = 16.8 K. Theoretically, we predict lattice dynamics including electron-phonon coupling based on density-functional-perturbation theory and discuss the relevance of the soft phonon mode with regard to the value of T-c. Furthermore, we explain superconductivity-induced anomalies in the lineshape of several acoustic phonon modes using a model proposed by Allen et al., [Phys. Rev. B 56, 5552 (19 7)].