Why Is Polonium Simple Cubic and So Highly Anisotropic?

Using the state-of-the-art ab initio electronic structure calculations, we explain why alpha-Po prefers the simple cubic structure (it is due to the relativistic mass-velocity and Darwin terms), elucidate its extreme elastic anisotropy (this is an intrinsic property of the simple cubic crystal structure), and predict a transformation to a mixture of two trigonal structures at pressures of 1-3 GPa.