Journal
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS
Volume 100, Issue 14, Pages -Publisher
AMER PHYSICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.145504
Keywords
-
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
A long-standing problem in Pu science is the crystallographic mechanism for the delta ->alpha' (fcc -> monoclinic) transformation. Orientation relations between the two structures impose severe restrictions on the possible mechanisms and require the transition to be reconstructive, which we describe as a sequence of three displacive transitions: fcc -> trigonal -> hexagonal -> monoclinic. We predict instabilities along the Lambda and Sigma branches in the phonon dispersion of the delta phase and formulate a free energy to describe the displacement of atoms across the transition. We suggest that the delta ->alpha' transition in Pu lies at the threshold of a change in character of the orientation relationship from lighter to heavier actinides, correlating with changes in electron itinerancy, magnetism, and volume.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available