Investigation of the Interaction of Electrons and Lattice Vibrations Using Glassy Metal Thermopower

Abstract

We calculate the electron-phonon enhancement effect in thermopower using several different models for the Eliashberg function a2 F(E) which describes the interaction of electrons and lattice vibrations. The behaviour of a 2 F(E) at low energies determines whether the predicted thermopower enhancement shows a peak at low temperatures, but the enhancement is rather insensitive to the detailed spectral shape of a2 F(E) at higher energies. The calculations are able to give a good account of the thermopowers of several glassy metals measured by Gallagher and Hickey (1985), with slightly better agreement obtained for a smooth rather than a Debye-like a2 F(E).