# Lattice dynamics for isochorically heated metals: A model study

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a minimal model to explain how electron thermal excitation affects phonon behavior in metals, capturing phonon hardening and softening phenomena in fcc and bcc structures.

## Contribution

It provides a simplified theoretical framework that reproduces phonon dynamics in metals under electron excitation, elucidating microscopic mechanisms.

## Key findings

- Model reproduces phonon hardening and softening in metals
- Explains phonon mode softening at the N point in bcc metals
- Links electron excitation to bond strength variations

## Abstract

The electron-excitation induced bond strength variations in metals have been predicted from density-functional theory calculations and observed experimentally, while the microscopic mechanism has yet to be elucidated. Here, we present a minimal model that reproduces the phonon hardening and softening for fcc- and bcc-structured metals as a result of the electron thermal excitation. We explain why the phonon mode softens at the N point for bcc-structured metals.