Gaining control over rare earth valence fluctuations (open access)

Gaining control over rare earth valence fluctuations

This paper briefly deals with the problem of narrow band materials. It addresses a new theoretical approach to the fluctuation of valence electrons in rare earth elements. It is believed that the phenomena of interest arize from an instability of the partially filled d or f shell of certain atoms when they are put into a metallic host. The theoretical models which dominate the scene work with two local d or f states on one hand and a structureless sea of free conduction electrons on the other. This procedure ignores at least half of the essential physics; the other held is kept alive in the term valence fluctuation. Basically, what the prevalent models ignore is that, in all these systems, the entire atoms as the source of the anomalies are being dealt with, not just their f shells. In other words, there is important structure in the sea of conduction electrons.
Date: May 31, 1987
Creator: Wohlleben, D.
System: The UNT Digital Library