Phonon dispersion of graphite.

The phonon dispersion of graphite was determined by inelastic X-ray scattering along the Γ-K, K-M, and Γ-K direction. In contrast to many predictions, the dispersion of the transverse branch is large, leading to a minimum at the K point. We present ab initio calculations which agree very well with the experiment. The minimum of the transverse branch at the K point is due to a strong electron-phonon coupling for this phonon. This coupling dominates the scattering mechanism in both electronic transport and Raman scattering. © 2004 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]