Ideal Thermal Conductivity of Pd and Nb

摘要

We have calculated the electron-phonon contribution to the thermal conductivity of Pd and Nb. The Boltzmann equation describes the electronic distribution function in the presence of a thermal gradient. We solved the Boltzmann equation within the rigid-muffin-tin approximation, using a very dense mesh of first-principles, Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker wave vectors on the Fermi surface. Phonon frequencies and polarizations were obtained from Born-von Karman force-constant fits of neutron scattering data. The electron-phonon matrix elements were calculated by using the rigid-muffin-tim approximation. Our calculation is free of adjustable parameters. Agreement with experiment is at the 15% level at room temperature. 18 references, 2 figures. (ERA citation 09:006137)