On the structure of γ-Hg

Abstract

It has been reported recently that various experiments on Hg at low temperatures indicate a strain-induced transformation to a new phase γ-Hg. The pseudopotential method, which has been successful in explaining the distorted β and α structures found at higher temperatures is here applied to examine the possibilities for the structure of γ-Hg, and it is suggested that this is either rhombohedral (φ ≈ 50°) or hexagonal close-packed (c/a ≈ 2·0).