Abstract
The ubiquitous nature and unusual properties of water have motivated many studies on its metastability under temperature- or pressure-induced phase transformations. Here, nanosecond compression by a high-power laser is used to create the nonequilibrium conditions where liquid water persists well into the stable region of ice VII. Through our experiments, as well as a complementary theoretical-computational analysis based on classical nucleation theory, we report that the metastability limit of liquid water under nearly isentropic compression from ambient conditions is at least 8 GPa, higher than the 7 GPa previously reported for lower loading rates.
- Received 5 March 2021
- Revised 23 July 2021
- Accepted 30 August 2021
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.135701
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