Pure Iron Compressed and Heated to Extreme Conditions

A. S. Mikhaylushkin, S. I. Simak, L. Dubrovinsky, N. Dubrovinskaia, B. Johansson, and I. A. Abrikosov
Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 165505 – Published 19 October 2007
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Abstract

The results of a first-principles study supported by the temperature-quenched laser-heated diamond anvil-cell experiments on the high-pressure high-temperature structural behavior of pure iron are reported. We show that in contrast to the widely accepted picture, the face-centered cubic (fcc) phase becomes as stable as the hexagonal-close-packed (hcp) phase at pressures around 300–360 GPa and temperatures around 5000–6000 K. Our temperature-quenched experiments indicate that the fcc phase of iron can exist in the pressure-temperature region above 160 GPa and 3700 K, respectively. This, in particular, means that the actual structure of the Earth’s core may be a complex phase with a large number of stacking faults.

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  • Received 24 November 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.165505

©2007 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

A. S. Mikhaylushkin1,2, S. I. Simak2, L. Dubrovinsky3, N. Dubrovinskaia4,5, B. Johansson1,6, and I. A. Abrikosov2

  • 1Department of Physics, Uppsala University, Box 530, SE-751 21 Uppsala, Sweden
  • 2Theory and Modeling Division, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, S-581 83, Linköping, Sweden
  • 3Bayerisches Geoinstitut, Universitat Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany
  • 4Mineralphysik und Strukturforschung, Mineralogisches Institut, Universität Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
  • 5Lehrstuhl für Kristallographie, Physikalisches Institut, Universität Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
  • 6Applied Materials Physics, Department of Materials and Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), SE-10044 Stockholm, Sweden

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Issue

Vol. 99, Iss. 16 — 19 October 2007

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