Topological and thermal disorder in amorphous iron.

Abstract

The temperature dependence of the dispersion of the interatomic distances in amorphous iron has been calculated. ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{T}$, the half-width of the pair correlation function ${g}_{T}$(r), has been deduced from direct calculation and indirect calculation by using the temperature dependence of the structure factor ${S}_{T}$(K). The variations of ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{T}$ obtained from the usually used Einstein model and from the more experimentally correct Debye model have been calculated. The comparison of ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{T}$ with ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{0}$, the half-width of the static pair correlation function, allows the evaluation of the thermal and topological disorders.