LOW TEMPERATURE BEHAVIOR OF DEBYE CHARACTERISTIC TEMPERATURES

Abstract

The low temperature behavior of the characteristic Debye temperature is investigated using the six- and nine-direction Houston approximation and by way of illustration, the lattice dynamics of Born and Begbie (nearest neighbors only). We study the values of θ₀ and B₂ for Cu, Au, Ag, Al, and Pb in the formula θ_T = θ₀ θ. The existence in Pb of a shallow maximum before the usual minimum, found earlier by Bhatia and Horton, is confirmed. The method is quite general and may be used for non-metals and with other theoretical models.