Electron-phonon interactions in bct white tin

Abstract

The electron-phonon interactions are evaluated exactly over the actual shape of the atomic polyhedron as well as the lattice polyhedron of diatomic white tin by making use of simple coordinate axes transformations and crystal symmetry. It is shown that the expressions for the interference factor,S(q, t) of the atomic polyhedron are complex while those for the lattice polyhedron are real and the reciprocal lattice vectors derived from the former do not correspond to those derived either from the latter or from x-ray structure factors. By comparing these expressions with each other as well as with those obtained by approximating these polyhedra by an ellipsoid of equivalent volume, apparent differences between the interference factors of atomic and lattice polyhedra, consequent ambiguity regarding the shape and size of the first Brillouin zone of white tin, validity of the Wigner-Seitz approximation for a diatomic lattice and the manner in which the electron-phonon interactions contribute to acoustical and optical modes of vibration are discussed.