The effect of pressure on the negative thermal expansion of solid methane
The effect of pressure on thermal expansion of solid CH4 is calculated for the low-temperature region where the contributions from phonons and librons can be neglected and only the rotational tunnelling modes are essential. The effect of pressure is shown to increase the magnitude of the peaks of the negative thermal expansion and shifts the positions of the peaks to the low-temperature region, which goes asymptotically to zero temperature with increasing pressure. The Grüneisen thermodynamical parameter for the rotational tunnelling modes is calculated. It is large, negative, and increases in magnitude with rising pressure.