First Principles Calculations of Electronic and Thermal Properties of AIRE (RE = La, Ce and Pr) Compounds.

Electronic properties of non-magnetic cubic B2-type AIRE (RE = La, Ce and Pr) compounds have been derived from self-consistent tight binding linear muffin tin orbital method at ambient pressure. These compounds show metallic behaviour under ambient conditions. While thermal properties like Debye temperature and Grüneisen constant are calculated at T = 0 K within the Debye-Grüneisen model and compared with the others theoretical results. We have also performed a pressure induced variation of Debye temperature. We have found a decrease in Debye temperature around 40 kbar in all the AIRE compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]