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For spin-degenerate Electrons at atomic spacing $a$, alternate the hopping amplitudes $-(t+\delta )$ and $-(t-\delta )$, with $t>0$ and $|\delta |<t$. The doubled primitive unit cell gives an off-diagonal Bloch Hamiltonian entry $-(t+\delta )-(t-\delta )e^{-2ika}$. Its two eigenvalues are the displayed energy bands, for $|k|\le \pi /(2a)$. The band gap at the edge of the Brillouin zone is $4|\delta |$. At half filling there are two Electrons per doubled primitive unit cell, so the lower band is full and the upper empty. This explicit model realizes the period-doubling form of a Peierls distortion.

A Fermi point is a point of the zero-temperature Fermi surface in one-dimensional momentum space. For a spin-degenerate band with one occupied interval, its two boundaries are usually $-k_F$ and $+k_F$. Low-energy excitations near them form left- and right-moving branches. A perturbation at wavevector $2k_F$ can mix those branches, as in a Peierls distortion.

Fill the lower energy band of the dimerized tight-binding chain with both spin states. Take zero on-site energy and measure ground-state energy per doubled primitive unit cell. State counting in a Bloch band and $q=ka$ giveEquivalently, for $|\delta |\le t$, $\mathcal{E}(\delta )=-(8t/\pi )E(\sqrt{1-{\delta }^2/t^2})$, where $E(k)$ is the complete elliptic integral of the second kind in the modulus convention.

For fixed $t>0$ and $|\delta |/t\to 0$, the change isThe logarithm comes from states near the edge of the Brillouin zone. Put $u=\pi /2-q$. To leading order the square root there is $\sqrt{t^2{u}^2+{\delta }^2}$. For a fixed small cutoff $\eta >0$, direct integration givesThe rest of the band, and the higher-order corrections near its edge, contribute only $O({\delta }^2/t)$; multiplying by $-8/\pi$ gives the displayed asymptotic expansion. Here the remainder uses Big O notation. The negative logarithmic term exceeds any fixed quadratic elastic cost $K{\delta }^2$, $K>0$, for sufficiently small nonzero $\delta$. This explains the zero-temperature instability to a Peierls distortion in the ideal chain model.

A Peierls distortion is a spontaneous lattice modulation that can lower the energy of a one-dimensional metal by opening a gap at its Fermi points. The associated change from metallic to gapped electronic behavior is a Peierls transition. The key wavevector is $2k_F$: it couples states near $+k_F$ and $-k_F$, which otherwise have the same energy.

Consider a spin-degenerate chain with one orbital per atom at spacing $a$ and one Electron per atom. The band is half filled and $k_F=\pi /(2a)$. A distortion of period $2a$ alternates short and long bonds, doubles the primitive cell, and folds the original Fermi points onto the new zone boundary. The distortion can therefore mix the degenerate states precisely where the occupied and empty states meet.

An explicit dimerized tight-binding chain has alternating hopping amplitudes $-(t+\delta )$ and $-(t-\delta )$, where $t>0$. In the reduced zone $|k|\le \pi /(2a)$,There are two Electrons per doubled cell, including spin, so the lower band is filled and the upper one empty. Splitting the degenerate states pushes occupied levels downward and empty ones upward, giving an electronic energy gain.

In weak coupling the electronic gain per length has the characteristic form $-C{\delta }^2\ln (t/|\delta |)$, with $C>0$. The elastic cost of moving the ions is proportional to $+K{\delta }^2$. The logarithm makes the undistorted ideal one-dimensional zero-temperature metal unstable to a small distortion even when the electron-lattice coupling is weak. A self-consistent balance selects a finite distortion amplitude. Two opposite dimerization patterns have the same energy for a translation-symmetric isolated chain.

The basic picture links structural modulation to electronic bond order or charge-density modulation, and can open an insulating gap. It does not assert that every real chain has exactly one Electron per atom or period doubling: away from half filling, a modulation at $2k_F$ need not be commensurate with two lattice spacings. Temperature, finite chain length and fluctuations cut off the ideal logarithmic response. Interchain coupling and the real lattice dynamics determine whether a macroscopic finite-temperature ordered phase actually forms. The strictly one-dimensional zero-temperature instability alone is not a proof of finite-temperature long-range order.

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]

A Peierls transition, named for Rudolf Peierls, is a metal-insulator transition caused by a Peierls distortion of an initially metallic chain.^[ref] A modulation at $2k_F$ mixes states near opposite Fermi points and can open a band gap at the Fermi energy. At half filling with one atomic orbital per chemical atom, this modulation doubles the original lattice period and alternates strong and weak bonds. In a weak-coupling zero-temperature description, the Peierls energy gain is proportional to $-({\delta }^2/t)\ln (t/|\delta |)$ whereas the elastic cost is proportional to ${\delta }^2$, where $t>0$ is the undistorted hopping strength and $\delta$ its small alternating change. The logarithm permits a distortion at arbitrarily weak coupling in the ideal model. Finite temperature, finite size, interchain coupling and thermal fluctuations matter for a real transition; strictly one-dimensional reasoning alone does not establish finite-temperature long-range order.