Electron–electron interactions in simple metals and transition metals

Abstract

Approximate formulas have been suggested for the electron–electron scattering amplitude in crystalline metals. These formulas are based on a formal exact relationship between the scattering amplitude and the electronic response functions and on formulas for the response function within density functional theory. It is pointed out that these approximations suggest that a large contribution to the scattering amplitude from effective spin–spin interactions should be present in many transition metals. The formulas are simple enough to make a quantitative exploration of electron–electron scattering amplitudes in non-simple metals practical.