  We have investigated the mechanism of stabilizing the simple-cubic (SC)
structure in polonium (alpha- Po), based on the phonon dispersion calculations
using the first-principles all-electron band method. We have demonstrated that
the stable SC structure results from the suppression of the Peierls instability
due to the strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in alpha-Po. Further, we have
explored the possible superconductivity in alpha-Po, and predicted that it
becomes a superconductor with Tc ~ 4 K. The transverse soft phonon mode at q ~
2/3 R, which is greatly influenced by the SOC, plays an important role both in
the structural stability and the superconductivity in alpha-Po. We have
discussed effects of the SOC and the volume variation on the phonon dispersions
and superconducting properties of alpha-Po.
