Real-space Dynamics in Liquid Gallium using Inelastic Neutron Scattering*

Liquid gallium is of strong theoretical interest due to the asymmetry of its prominent peak in the static structure function close to the melting point, which indicates the unusual nature of its atomic bonding. It also possesses higher density in the liquid state than in the solid state, and lower coordination number, similar to the strongly covalent systems such as water and silicon. These behaviors are different from other simple metallic systems, such as Fe and CuZr. In this work, we demonstrate the anomalous nature of the correlated atomic dynamics of liquid gallium in real-space and time using the Van Hove function, G(r,t). The Van Hove function was determined by double Fourier transforming the dynamic structure factor, S(Q, E), which was measured by inelastic neutron scattering measurements.