Mean-square atomic displacement and associated Debye temperature of holmium

The two principal components of the mean-square atomic displacement resulting from thermal vibrations in holmium, <u_z²> and <u_x²>, are determined from single-crystal, X-ray diffraction intensities, corrected for thermal diffuse scattering and for extinction effects. The room temperature values of <u_z²> and <u_x²> are found to be 0.01225 ± 0.00063 and 0.0122 ± 0.0021 Å² respectively. These two components of the average displacement combine to yield an X-ray Debye temperature for holmium of 147 ± 9°K.