Effect of the spin-orbit interaction on the thermodynamic properties of crystals: Specific heat of bismuth
(2007) Physical Review Letters — Vol. 99, n° 16, p. 165504 : 1-4 (2007)
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- We discuss measurements and ab initio calculations of the specific heat for crystalline bismuth, strictly speaking, a semimetal but in the temperature region accessible to us (T > 2 K) acting as a semiconductor. We extend experimental data available in the literature and notice that the ab initio calculations without spin-orbit interaction exhibit a maximum at similar to 8 K, about 20% lower than the measured one. Inclusion of spin-orbit interaction decreases the discrepancy markedly: the maximum of C(T) is now only 7% larger than the measured one. Exact agreement is obtained if the strength of the spin-orbit Hamiltonian is reduced by a factor of similar to 0.9. We also discuss the dependence of the lattice parameter and the cohesive energy on spin-orbit interaction.
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Diaz-Sanchez, L. E., Romero, A. H., Cardona, M., Kremer, R., & Gonze, X. (2007). Effect of the spin-orbit interaction on the thermodynamic properties of crystals: Specific heat of bismuth. Physical Review Letters, 99(16), 165504 : 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.165504 (Original work published 2007)