A study of the electron-phonon interaction in the de Haas-van Alphen effect

Abstract

The many-body theory of the de Haas-van Alphen effect of Engelsberg and Simpson (1970) predicts departures from the semiclassical approach of Lifshitz and Kosevich (1956) arising from the influence of the electron-phonon interaction. The magnitude of these departures is calculated for mercury, indium and lead. Accurate measurements of DHVA amplitudes are made for mercury at temperatures between 1.3 and 4.2 K in magnetic fields up to 8 T. Anomalies in the earlier work of Elliot et al. (1978) are re-examined and clarified. The many-body theory is found to be in good quantitative agreement with experiment.