Liquid Ga is considered to be in a mixed state of metallic and covalent local states, and shows complex behavior, similar to those of other polyvalent Group III-V elements on the Periodic Table, such as Si, Ge, Sn, and Bi. We studied liquid Ga by inelastic neutron scattering to obtain the pair-distribution function. We found that the structure of liquid Ga has the medium-range order characterized by two overlapping density waves (DWs), one originating from ionic repulsion and the other due to electronic driving force to create charge density waves. We suggest that the dual DW state is naturally elucidated by the density wave theory, rather than the widely used Ornstein-Zernike theory. such as Si, Ge, Sn, and Bi. We studied liquid Ga by inelastic neutron scattering to obtain the pairdistribution function. We found that the structure of liquid Ga has the medium-range order characterized by two overlapping density waves (DWs), one originating from ionic repulsion and the other due to electronic driving force to create charge density waves. We suggest that the dual DW state is naturally elucidated by the density wave theory, rather than the widely used Ornstein-Zernike theory..
Egami et al. (2026) studied this question.