Electronic thermal Gruneisen parameters for elements with high atomic numbers

Abstract

The variation of the electronic Gruneisen parameter ( gamma e) is evaluated for the high-atomic-number elements thorium and lead by use of the relativistic augmented-plane-wave method and the pseudopotential method respectively. The variation of gamma e in thorium is found to be in qualitative agreement with that obtained from the Thomas-Fermi atom model, but the variation in lead is found to be in the opposite direction. The thermal electronic energy for thorium is also found to depart from the T2 behaviour often assumed in shock-wave calculations.