A quantitative understanding of pressure dependent conductivity of FeSi1−xGex

A new density of states model, referred to as the Gaussian density of states, is proposed for the quantitative understanding of the electrical conductivity behaviour of FeSi Kondo insulating system. The effects of electron correlation and disorder, responsible for the physical properties of this system, are judiciously incorporated in this model. Within the framework of this model, a detailed quantitative analysis of the temperature and pressure dependent electrical conductivity data of FeSi1−xGex (x=0.0, 0.05 and 0.20) reported by Awadhesh Mani et al. [Phys. Rev. B 63 (2001) 115103] has been carried out. From these analyses the complicated pressure dependence of energy gap seen experimentally in these samples could be satisfactorily rationalized.