Theoretical and experimental electronic structure of Zr-based transition-metal glasses containing Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Rh, and Pd

Abstract

Measured valence-band photoelectron spectra for the transition-metal glasses $A_x{\mathrm{Zr}}_{100-x}$ ($A=\mathrm{F}\mathrm{e},\mathrm{C}\mathrm{o},\mathrm{N}\mathrm{i},\mathrm{C}\mathrm{u},\mathrm{R}\mathrm{h},\mathrm{a}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{d}\mathrm{P}\mathrm{d}$, with $x$ approximately 25) are shown to be in good agreement with self-consistent energy-band state densities for ordered compounds in the Au${\mathrm{Cu}}_3$ (fcc-like) crystal structure. The calculations and measurements both yield high Fermi-level state densities, account for core-level line shapes, and are consistent with the occurrence of superconductivity and with trends in the transition temperatures of glassy alloys of Zr with $3d$ transition metals.