Phonons in ZrB12

The first results of measuring dispersion curves of acoustic phonons in the ZrB12 superconductor are reported. The measurements have been conducted by the inelastic neutron scattering method on an ATOS three-axis spectrometer (IR-8, Russian Research Centre “Kurchatov Institute,” Moscow) at room temperature with a single crystal grown using a 99.5%-enriched 11B isotope. The results obtained have been analyzed in terms of the lattice dynamics model proposed earlier for rare-earth dodecaborides. In this model, the constants of the force interaction of Zr atoms with one another and with the boron framework have been determined.