The Actinides: Electronic Structure and Related Properties, Volume I reviews major advances that have been made concerning the electronic structure and properties of actinide elements, alloys, and compounds. The electronic energy band structure and magnetic properties of the actinides are examined, and results of hyperfine and neutron scattering studies are presented. Comprised of six chapters, this book opens with a historical introduction to actinide research followed by a chapter on crystal field theory that discusses the behavior of 5f electrons in actinide compounds when exposed to strong crystal-field interactions, with emphasis on the strong intra-atomic correlation between electrons. The following chapters discuss the electronic energy band structure of the actinide metals, as derived from energy band theory; the magnetic properties of the actinide compounds in relation to their electronic structure; and the microscopic electronic properties of actinide metals and compounds obtained from nuclear magnetic resonance and neutron scattering studies. The final chapter summarizes the unique contribution by slow neutron-scattering experiments. This volume will be useful to scientists involved in work on the actinides as well as newcomers in the field.

The Actinides: Electronic Structure and Related Properties, Volume II presents a comprehensive review of the pertinent information and the existing body of knowledge on the electric structure of the actinide elements, compounds, and alloys. This book discusses the behavior of actinides in detail. Organized into eight chapters, this volume begins with an overview of how electronic band-structure calculations have contributed to the basic understanding of diverse physical properties of the AX compounds. This text then describes the concept of magnetism in the metals, intermetallic compounds, and dilute alloys. Other chapters consider the optical experiments to obtain mappings of the occupied and empty electronic density of states. This book includes as well a comprehensive list of compounds, as well as a description and classification of crystal-structure data. The final chapter deals with the important improvements in the experimental methods for studying surfaces and surface reactions. This book is a valuable resource for physicists and materials scientists.

This is a revised edition of the 1999 text on the electronic structure and properties of solids, similar in spirit to the well-known 1980 text Electronic Structure and the Properties of Solids. The revisions include an added chapter on glasses, and rewritten sections on spin-orbit coupling, magnetic alloys, and actinides. The text covers covalent semiconductors, ionic insulators, simple metals, and transition-metal and f-shell-metal systems. It focuses on the most important aspects of each system, making what approximations are necessary in order to proceed analytically and obtain formulae for the properties. Such back-of-the-envelope formulae, which display the dependence of any property on the parameters of the system, are characteristic of Harrison's approach to electronic structure, as is his simple presentation and his provision of all the needed parameters.In spite of the diversity of systems and materials, the approach is systematic and coherent, combining the tight-binding (or atomic) picture with the pseudopotential (or free-electron) picture. This provides parameters ? the empty-core radii as well as the covalent energies ? and conceptual bases for estimating the various properties of all these systems. Extensive tables of parameters and properties are included.The book has been written as a text, with problems at the end of each chapter, and others can readily be generated by asking for estimates of different properties, or different materials, than those treated in the text. In fact, the ease of generating interesting problems reflects the extraordinary utility and simplicity of the methods introduced. Developments since the 1980 publication have made the theory simpler and much more accurate, besides allowing much wider application.

This unique monograph covers recent theoretical and experimental results on the complex character of f electrons in materials containing lanthanides (rare earths) or actinides, such as alpha-cerium and delta-plutonium. It answers the urgent need for a general presentation of the body of experimental and theoretical results presently available in this challenging domain. Some of the fast developing applications of lanthanide and actinide materials are mentioned. Materials containing atoms with an open f shell have electronic and crystalline properties that are controlled by the localized or delocalized character of the f electrons. This book gives a theoretical discussion of the various spectroscopic methods that shed light on the character of the f electrons and on the connection between their localization and the properties of these materials. Part 1 covers the characteristics of the f electrons in atoms and solids and includes a discussion of the properties of lanthanides and actinides in connection with the f electrons. Part 2 describes the various spectroscopic methods that are used to establish the electronic distributions and energies of the states. Examples involve the determination of f electron distributions by high energy spectroscopy methods with separate treatment of the valence and core electrons. Part 3 concentrates on the theoretical treatment of electronic transitions involving f electrons and simulations of the lanthanide spectra, including comparison with the available experimental data. Part 4 discusses the localized or delocalized character of the f electrons in actinides and their compounds, including comparison (analogies & differences) between the 4f and 5f electron materials. This monograph should be of great value for researchers, academics and engineers working in the fields of high energy spectroscopy, electronic and nuclear science and technology, as well as materials involving rare earths and radio-elements.

Perhaps the title of this conference "Ctystalline Electric Field and Structural Effects in f-Electron Systems" reflects best the growth and direction of the field. The title and the conference itself go beyond "CEF" in two broad and important respects. First, the inter-relations between CEF and mode softenings, distortions due to quadruplar ordering or the Jahn Teller effect, have gained greater focus, hence the inclusion of . •• "Structral Effects. " Second, much greater emphasis on the actinides and, in particular, comparisons between actinides and the lighter rare earths is seen in this conference, hence the more general terminology . . . Iff-Electron Systems. " It seems clear that this comparison will lead to an extension to the actinides of mixed valence and Kondo considerations, as well as CEF effects. The emergence of a broader discipline which includes all f-electron systems and which is concerned with unstable, as well as stable, valence reflects the maturation of the field and a coming to grips with the complexity, as well as the unity, of f-electron systems. This maturation is also seen in the growing realization of the effects of CEF on transport, thermodynamic properties, and superconductivity and its co-existence with magnetic order. This volume contains 63 articles, all but two of which were presented at the Conference held in Philadelphia, U. S. A. , on 12-15 November, 1979. About 100 conferees from 13 countries attended the meeting which consisted of four full days of lecture presentations.

Specialist Periodical Reports provide systematic and detailed review coverage of progress in the major areas of chemical research. Written by experts in their specialist fields the series creates a unique service for the active research chemist, supplying regular critical in-depth accounts of progress in particular areas of chemistry. For over 80 years the Royal Society of Chemistry and its predecessor, the Chemical Society, have been publishing reports charting developments in chemistry, which originally took the form of Annual Reports. However, by 1967 the whole spectrum of chemistry could no longer be contained within one volume and the series Specialist Periodical Reports was born. The Annual Reports themselves still existed but were divided into two, and subsequently three, volumes covering Inorganic, Organic and Physical Chemistry. For more general coverage of the highlights in chemistry they remain a 'must'. Since that time the SPR series has altered according to the fluctuating degree of activity in various fields of chemistry. Some titles have remained unchanged, while others have altered their emphasis along with their titles; some have been combined under a new name whereas others have had to be discontinued. The current list of Specialist Periodical Reports can be seen on the inside flap of this volume.

The first edition of this work appeared almost thirty years ago, when, as we can see in retrospect, the study of the actinide elements was in its first bloom. Although the broad features of the chemistry of the actinide elements were by then quite well delineated, the treatment of the subject in the first edition was of necessity largely descriptive in nature. A detailed understanding of the chemical consequences of the characteristic presence of Sf electrons in most of the members of the actinide series was still for the future, and many of the systematic features of the actinide elements were only dimly apprehended. In the past thirty years all this has changed. The application of new spectroscopic techniques, which came into general use during this period, and new theoretical insights, which came from a better understanding of chemical bonding, inorganic chemistry, and solid state phenomena, were among the important factors that led to a great expansion and maturation in actinide element research and a large number of new and important findings. The first edition consisted of a serial description of the individual actinide elements, with a single chapter devoted to the six heaviest elements (lawrencium, the heaviest actinide, was yet to be discovered). Less than 15 % of the text was devoted to a consideration of the systematics of the actinide elements.

The handling of actinides and actinide-based materials provides significant technological challenges due to the toxicity and radioactivity associated with these materials. These challenges are particularly apparent in the nuclear power industry. Under normal operation, a reactor can produce a significant amount of spent fuel requiring subsequent containment for geologic times, and under accident conditions it can release lethal doses of radioactive material to the environment. Inevitably, radioactive material will enter the environment, necessitating as complete an understanding as possible of its behavior. An understanding of the interaction between actinides and the environment must be based on a knowledge of their basic physical and chemical properties. To date, although there is general agreement on the principles for waste disposal, no facility has been built for the long term disposal of high level radioactive waste from either normal reactor operations or from accidental catastrophes. This makes it most important for the scientific and technical community to develop the necessary cross-disciplinary understanding that will help us implement safe and secure waste management, accident remediation and accident prevention systems.

Treatise on Materials Science and Technology, Volume 21: Electronic Structure and Properties covers the developments in electron theory and electron spectroscopies. The book discusses the electronic structure of perfect and defective solids; the photoelectron spectroscopy as an electronic structure probe; and the electron-phonon interaction. The text describes the elastic properties of transition metals; the electrical resistivity of metals; as well as the electronic structure of point defects in metals. Metallurgists, materials scientists, materials engineers, and students involved in the related fields will find the book useful.