Elastic constants of the transition metals from a uniform electron gas.

Abstract

The trends in the elastic constants of the simple and transition elemental cubic metals are explained in terms of a uniform electron-gas theory. Recently, the bonding energetics of elemental metals were systematized using a new uniform electron-gas model. Dubbed the ``ideal metal,'' this model stems from a physical interpretation of the process of cleaving the positive background, and posits that no forces act on the background in the uniform state. Previously, this new model was used to show that the cohesive energies of the elemental transition metals depend primarily on the bonding valence and the average electron density at the boundary of the unit cell. Here, we use a slight modification of the same model to show that the elastic constants of the elemental cubic metals depend primarily on the bonding valence, the density at the cell boundary, and the symmetry of the lattice.