- By:
- Egami, Takeshi ; Hua, Chengyun ; Shinohara, Yuya ; Zarkadoula, Evangelia ; Dmowski, Wojciech ; Abernathy, Douglas L
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter
- Page Number:
- 145102
- Volume:
- 38
- Issue Number:
- 14
- Publication Date:
- May 19, 2026
- View DOI Listing:
- https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-648X/ae5862
Abstract
Liquid Ga is considered to be in a mixed state of metallic and covalent local states, and shows complex behavior, similar to those of other polyvalent Group III–V elements on the Periodic Table, such as Si, Ge, Sn, and Bi. We studied liquid Ga by inelastic neutron scattering to obtain the pair-distribution function. We found that the structure of liquid Ga has the medium-range order characterized by two overlapping density waves (DWs), one originating from ionic repulsion and the other due to electronic driving force to create charge DWs. We suggest that the dual DW state is naturally elucidated by the DW theory, rather than the widely used Ornstein–Zernike theory.
