Optical properties of random alloys : Application to Cu_{50}Au_{50} and Ni_{50}Pt_{50}

In an earlier paper [K. K. Saha and A. Mookerjee, Phys. Rev. B 70 (2004) (in press) or, cond-mat/0403456] we had presented a formulation for the calculation of the configuration-averaged optical conductivity in random alloys. Our formulation is based on the augmented-space theorem introduced by one of us [A. Mookerjee, J. Phys. C: Solid State Phys. 6, 1340 (1973)]. In this communication we shall combine our formulation with the tight-binding linear muffin-tin orbitals (TB-LMTO) technique to study the optical conductivities of two alloys Cu_{50}Au_{50} and Ni_{50}Pt_{50}.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figure

Structure, bonding and magnetism in cobalt clusters

The structural, electronic and magnetic properties of Co$_n$ clusters ($n=2-$20) have been investigated using density functional theory within the pseudopotential plane wave method. An unusual hexagonal growth pattern has been observed in the intermediate size range, $n=15-$20. The cobalt atoms are ferromagnetically ordered and the calculated magnetic moments are found to be higher than that of corresponding hcp bulk value, which are in good agreement with the recent Stern-Gerlach experiments. The average coordination number is found to dominate over the average bond length to determine the effective hybridization and consequently the cluster magnetic moment.Comment: 12 pages and 9 figure

A theoretical study of the cluster glass-Kondo-magnetic disordered alloys

The physics of disordered alloys, such as typically the well known case of CeNi1-xCux alloys, showing an interplay among the Kondo effect, the spin glass state and a magnetic order, has been studied firstly within an average description like in the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model. Recently, a theoretical model (PRB 74, 014427 (2006)) involving a more local description of the intersite interaction has been proposed to describe the phase diagram of CeNi1-xCux. This alloy is an example of the complex interplay between Kondo effect and frustration in which there is in particular the onset of a cluster-glass state. Although the model given in Ref. PRB 74, 014427 (2006) has reproduced the different phases relatively well, it is not able to describe the cluster-glass state. We study here the competition between the Kondo effect and a cluster glass phase within a Kondo Lattice model with an inter-cluster random Gaussian interaction. The inter-cluster term is treated within the cluster mean-field theory for spin glasses, while, inside the cluster, an exact diagonalisation is performed including inter-site ferromagnetic and intra-site Kondo interactions. The cluster glass order parameters and the Kondo correlation function are obtained for different values of the cluster size, the intra-cluster ferromagnetic coupling and the Kondo intra-site coupling. We obtain, for instance, that the increase of the Kondo coupling tends to destroy the cluster glass phase.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, Accepted for publication in Physica

Lattice thermal conductivity of disordered NiPd and NiPt alloys

Numerical calculations of lattice thermal conductivity are reported for the binary alloys NiPd and NiPt. The present work is a continuation of an earlier paper by us [PRB, 72, 214207 (2005)]which had developed a theoretical framework for the calculation of configuration-averaged lattice thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity in disordered alloys. The formulation was based on the augmented space theorem combined with a scattering diagram technique. In this paper we shall show dependence of the lattice thermal conductivity on a series of variables like phonon frequency, temperature and alloy composition. The temperature dependence of $\kappa(T)$ and its realtion to the measured thermal conductivity is discussed. The concentration dependence of $\kappa$ appears to justify the notion of a minimum thermal conductivity as discussed by Kittel, Slack and others. We also study the frequency and composition dependence of the thermal diffusivity averaged over modes. A numerical estimate of this quantity gives an idea about the location of mobility edge and the fraction of states in the frequency spectrum which is delocalized.Comment: 23 pages, 18 figure

An augmented space recursion study of the electronic structure of rough epitaxial overlayers

In this communication we propose the use of the Augmented Space Recursion as an ideal methodology for the study of electronic and magnetic structures of rough surfaces, interfaces and overlayers. The method can take into account roughness, short-ranged clustering effects, surface dilatation and interdiffusion. We illustrate our method by an application of Fe overlayer on Ag (100) surface.Comment: 22 pages, Latex, 6 postscript figure

Phonons in random alloys: the itinerant coherent-potential approximation

We present the itinerant coherent-potential approximation(ICPA), an analytic, translationally invariant and tractable form of augmented-space-based, multiple-scattering theory in a single-site approximation for harmonic phonons in realistic random binary alloys with mass and force-constant disorder. We provide expressions for quantities needed for comparison with experimental structure factors such as partial and average spectral functions and derive the sum rules associated with them. Numerical results are presented for Ni_{55} Pd_{45} and Ni_{50} Pt_{50} alloys which serve as test cases, the former for weak force-constant disorder and the latter for strong. We present results on dispersion curves and disorder-induced widths. Direct comparisons with the single-site coherent potential approximation(CPA) and experiment are made which provide insight into the physics of force-constant changes in random alloys. The CPA accounts well for the weak force-constant disorder case but fails for strong force-constant disorder where the ICPA succeeds.Comment: 19 pages, 12 eps figures, uses RevTex

Spectral statistics near the quantum percolation threshold

The statistical properties of spectra of a three-dimensional quantum bond percolation system is studied in the vicinity of the metal insulator transition. In order to avoid the influence of small clusters, only regions of the spectra in which the density of states is rather smooth are analyzed. Using finite size scaling hypothesis, the critical quantum probability for bond occupation is found to be $p_q=0.33\pm.01$ while the critical exponent for the divergence of the localization length is estimated as $\nu=1.35\pm.10$. This later figure is consistent with the one found within the universality class of the standard Anderson model.Comment: REVTeX, 4 pages, 5 figures, all uuencoded, accepted for publication in PRB (Rapid Communication

Development of a Time Efficient Protocol for Cross-Limb Comparisons of Muscle Mitochondrial Capacity Using NIRS

Click the PDF icon to download the abstract