Ab initio calculations of the physical properties of transition metal carbides and nitrides and possible routes to high- T c superconductivity.

We report ab initio linear-response calculations of the phonon spectra and the electron-phonon interaction for several transition metal carbides and nitrides in a NaCl-type structure. For NbC, the kinetic, optical, and superconducting properties are calculated in detail at various pressures and the normal-pressure results are found to agree well with the experiment. Factors accounting for the relatively low critical temperatures T _c in transition metal compounds with light elements are considered and the possible ways of increasing T _c are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]