Time-space correlation function of liquid metals with complex static structure deduced from pulsed neutron experiment

Kawakita, Yukinobu  ; Kikuchi, Tatsuya*  ; Inamura, Yasuhiro  ; Tahara, Shuta*; Maruyama, Kenji*; Hanashima, Takayasu*; Nakamura, Mitsutaka   ; Kiyanagi, Ryoji  ; Yamauchi, Yasuhiro*; Chiba, Kaori*; Kawamura, Seiko   ; Sakaguchi, Yoshifumi*; Shimakura, Hironori*; Takahashi, Ryuta*; Arima, Hiroshi*; Nakajima, Kenji  

There are many polyvalent liquid metals with complex structure which cannot be reproduced by random packing model. To explain such complexity, coexistence of metallic and covalent bonds, dynamic model of short-lived covalent bonds, and quasi-crystal model where Peierls distortion still remains even in liquid phase have been proposed from structure analyses and theoretical calculations. To obtain concrete picture experimentally for complex structure, it is indispensable to measure dynamic structure with precise statistical accuracy. We performed inelastic neutron scattering of liquid bismuth by using AMATERAS installed at MLF in J-PARC and deduced its time-space correlation function. We got evidence that structure of Peierls distortion remains even in liquid by evaluating difference in relaxation time at specific atomic distances characterized by double layered structure.