de Haas-van Alphen Effect in Mercury

By means of de Haas-van Alphen studies on oriented single crystals, the topology and size of the Fermi surface of mercury have been determined. Three distinct types of oscillations with minimum values of f(1/H) equal to 7.35×{}10⁵, 1.58×{}10⁷, and 3.22×{}10⁷ G have been observed in the field range 10 to 60 kG. The data are discussed in terms of both the free-electron model and a three-parameter plane-wave model. Only one set of oscillations corresponds to features of the former, namely, lens-shaped second-zone electron surfaces on {100} faces of the Brillouin zone. The plane-wave model with pseudopotential parameters V₁₀₀, V₁₁₀, and V₁₁₁ equal to -0.066, +0.047, and +0.047 Ry, respectively, produces the modification of the free-electron first-zone hole surface necessary to explain the existence of the other oscillations.