Problem Set 2

Condensed Matter Physics (PH 418)

1. (a) Prove that the reciprocal lattice primitive vectors satisfy

(2π)3
b1 · (b2 × b3 ) =
a1 · (a2 × a3 )

(b) Suppose primitive vectors are constructed from bi in the same manner as the bi are constructed from the
ai . Prove that these vectors are just the ai themselves; ie., show that

(b2 × b3 )
a1 = (2π)
b1 · (b2 × b3 )

(c) Prove that the volume of a Bravais lattice primitive cell is v = |a1 · (a2 × a3 )|, where the ai are three primitive
vectors.
P (d) Let the function f (r) be lattice periodic. Show that the vector k occurring in the Fourier series f (r) =
k fk exp(ik · r) are reciprocal lattice vectors K.
2. Show that the density of lattice points in a lattice plane is d/v , where v is the primitive cell volume and d
the spacing between neighboring planes in the family to which the given plane belongs.
3. It is often convenient to represent a face-centered cubic Bravais lattice as simple cubic, with a cubic primitive
cell of side a and a four-point basis.
(a) Show that the structure factor is then either 4 or 0 at all points of the simple cubic reciprocal lattice.
(b) Show that when points with zero structure factor are removed, the remaining points of the reciprocal lattice
make up a body-centered cubic lattice with conventional cell of side 4π/a. Why is this to be expected?
4. The fcc structure arises as the result of an appropriate superposition of four interpenetrating primitive
simple cubic (sc) structures, all of which have the same lattice constant as the fcc structure. Interpret the result of
the previous problem for the case of (001) diraction beam (extinction compared with sc), and for the (111) beam
(enhancement compared with sc). To do this, consider the Bragg reection from the corresponding lattice planes
of the sc and the fcc structures.
5. Calculate the structure factor for the diamond structure.
6. (a) Show that the structure factor for a monatomic hexagonal close-packed crystal structure can take on any
of the six values 1 + einπ/3 , n = 1, ..., 6, as K ranges through the points of the simple hexagonal reciprocal lattice.
(b) Show that all reciprocal lattice points have nonvanishing structure factor in the plane perpendicular to the
c-axis containing K=0.
(c) Show that points of zero structure factor are found in alternate planes in the family of reciprocal lattice
planes perpendicular to the c-axis.
7. If the wavelength of the incident radiation and the scattering angle are known, then one may easily deduce
the distance between the planes, d, responsible for each scattering peak. the following twelve lines were obtained
from a crystalline powder. Data were obtained using nickel ltered Kα radiation. The powder is known to belong
to a cubic system.

Table 1: Diraction data

line d(Å) relative intensity
1 3.157 94
2 1.931 100
3 1.647 35
4 1.366 12
5 1.253 10
6 1.1150 16
7 1.0512 7
8 0.9657 5
9 0.9233 7
10 0.9105 1
11 0.8634 9
12 0.8330 3