Low-Temperature Specific Heats of Alloys Based on the Noble Metals, Cu, Ag, and Au:α-Phase Cu-Zn Alloys

Abstract

Heat-capacity measurements between 1.6 and 4.2°K were made on a series of copper-zinc alloys covering the entire range of the face-centered cubic phase. The density of states at the Fermi surface is found to decrease initially with alloying rather than to increase. Alternative explanations of the data are considered, and a possible model involving overlapping of electrons into the second Brillouin zone is suggested.