First-principles study of the electronic structure and dielectric response function of diamond and other relevant high pressure phases of carbon up to 15 Mbar

The electronic structure and dielectric properties of the diamond, body centered cubic diamond (bc8), and hexagonal diamond (lonsdaleite) phases of carbon are computed using density functional theory and many-body perturbation theory up to 15 Mbar with the emphasis on the excitonic picture of the solid phases relevant in the regimes of high-pressure physics and warm dense matter (WDM). We also discuss the capabilities of reproducing the inelastic x-ray scattering spectra in comparison with the existing models.