Thermal conductivity of gold and silver at high pressures

The thermal diffusivities of gold and silver have been measured under pressure up to 2.5 GPa at room temperature. From the measured data the pressure dependence of the thermal conductivity, λ, has been calculated. The values found for the pressure coefficient λ^?1$\text{δλ}\text{δP}$ were 3.9 × 10^?2GPa^?1 for gold and 4.0 × 10^?2 GP silver at atmospheric pressure. The results are compared to theoretical predictions of the pressure dependence and also to previous experimental results for copper and aluminium. For the noble metals, small angle or “vertical” scattering of electrons is shown to have a stronger volume dependence than “horizontal” scattering.