γ-ray Compton Profiles of Liquid Alkali Metals(Physics)

Compton profiles of lithium and sodium metals in both the liquid and solid states were measured by using a Ge(Li) detector and 59.54 keV γ-rays emitted from ^Am. The theoretical Compton profiles were calculated for conduction electrons in the liquid metals by means of a free-electron model. Careful comparisons were then made between the experimental profile deconvoluted with an instrument resolution function and the theoretical profile convoluted with a residual instrument function. It was found that the experimental Compton profile for liquid sodium is in good agreement with the theoretical free-electron model but for liquid lithium, the experimental deviates a little from the theoretical. A small difference of Compton profiles between the liquid and solid states may be interpreted in terms of the free-electron model based on a change in the electron density upon melting