Transition from the Ordered Solid to the Disordered Liquid State Viewed by Photoemission

For several metals like Hg, In, Ga and Tl , we show that the solid-liquid phase transition can generate large changes in the photoemission properties. The temperature or phase dependence of the yield Y(T), workfunction Φ(T), vector-ratio α(T) and the energy distribution curves (EDC) are of special interest here. Thallium shows an additional solid-solid phase transition and offers the opportunity of studying a transition between two different ordered states. Possible reasons for the observed changes at a phase transition are discussed.