Atomic thermal vibrations of the light actinide elements

We have been using time-of-flight neutron powder diffraction to determine the Debye-Waller factors of the light actinide elements. The Debye-Waller factor is a measure of the mean-square atomic displacement that arises from the thermal motion of the atoms in any solid. Its temperature dependence det...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of alloys and compounds 1994-10, Vol.213, p.426-428
Main Authors: Lawson, A.C., Goldstone, J.A., Cort, B., Sheldon, R.I., Foltyn, E.M.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We have been using time-of-flight neutron powder diffraction to determine the Debye-Waller factors of the light actinide elements. The Debye-Waller factor is a measure of the mean-square atomic displacement that arises from the thermal motion of the atoms in any solid. Its temperature dependence determines a Debye-Waller temperature Θ DW that is characteristic of the elastic properties of the solid. The data are obtained by Rietveld analysis of neutron diffraction powder patterns obtained at several temperatures. We have analyzed the results for α-U, α-Np, α-Pu and δ-Pu 0.95Al 0.05. The measured temperature dependence of the Θ DW can be interpreted with an “effective” Grüneisen constant, whose numerical values are much too high to be explained with harmonic forces.
ISSN:0925-8388
1873-4669
DOI:10.1016/0925-8388(94)90951-2