Electronic and structural properties of LiBe${\mathrm{H}}_3$

In a recent paper, A. W. Overhauser Phys. Rev. B 35, 411 1987 suggested that LiBe${\mathrm{H}}_3$ could be a metal with a very large electron density, in the range attributed to the metallic phases of hydrogen, and that it could share the properties often envisioned for metallic hydrogen, including high-temperature superconductivity. Band-structure and total-energy calculations for LiBe${\mathrm{H}}_3$ suggest that it is an ionicly bonded insulator with only half the density assumed by Overhauser. It is therefore a poor candidate for a metal with a large electron density.