A Peierls distortion modulates the atomic positions and chemical bonds of a one-dimensional chain with a partly filled energy band. In the half-filled example, alternating short and long bonds double the primitive unit cell. The distortion is the structural change; the associated Peierls transition is the change in electronic conduction.[ref]
Peierls distortion. Entry PT07442: bond alternation caused by distortion of a partially occupied one-dimensional structure
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