Transformations in the medium-range order of fused silica under high pressure

Molecular dynamics simulations of fused silica at shock pressures reproduce the experimental equation of state of this material and explain its characteristic shape. We demonstrate that shock waves modify the medium-range order of this amorphous system, producing changes that are only clearly revealed by its ring size distribution. The ring size distribution remains practically unchanged during elastic compression but varies continuously after the transition to the plastic regime.     

Kinetics of phase transitions under high pressure

Abstract

Phase transitions under high pressure have attracted increasing attention i n connection with high pressure synthesis of new materials (e.g. superhard materials, ceramics, semiconductors, high temperature superconductors) and the exploration of geological processes like the formation of rocks and minerals. For t h e investigation of thermodynamic and electronic equilibrium properties a broad spectrum of methods for pressure generation and physical measurements have been developed ^1,2,3,4. Tha measurement of equilibrium properties, however, gives only poor insight into the detailed mechanisnts of phase changes. The accurate determination of phase equilibria and phase diagrams becomes inore and more difficult a t low temperatures due to increasing hysteresis effects end t h e extrapolation of experimental data to zerc, teiiipwature a nd the compar ison with quantumiiiechanical ah in.itio calculations are questionable.     

Deformation phase transition in vanadium under high pressure

Within the framework of the Landau theory of phase transitions and the density functional method, it is shown that the structural transformation from a body-centered cubic phase to a rhombohedral phase revealed in vanadium at 69 GPa is a first-order deformation phase transition close to a second-order phase transition.     

Semiconductor-metal phase transition in LaBi under high pressure

Physics of the Solid State - The effect of pressure up to 22 GPa on the electrical resistance and thermopower of lanthanum monobismuthide at room temperature has been studied. A semiconductor-metal...     

Evidence for a new metastable crystalline phase of strontium nitrate

The undercooling of aqueous solutions of strontium nitrate a few mm³ in volume or microsized by dispersion within an emulsion is investigated. The experimental results are consistent with a succession of transformations in undercooled solutions of binaries. Following concentration, the undercoolings are from 14°C to 20°C for macrosamples or from 39°C to 60°C with emulsions. However it is observed that Sr(NO₃)₂ crystallizes into a metastable phase which can be preserved for a long time. The existence of this metastable crystalline phase has been evidenced by Differential Scanning Calorimetry and by an original evaporation method. The phase diagram, including the metastable phase, is presented.     

Superconductivity in ordered LiBe alloy under high pressure: A first-principles study

The electronic, vibrational, and superconducting properties of LiBe alloy in the P2₁/m structure under pressure have been investigated using first-principles calculations. The calculated electron–phonon coupling (EPC) of LiBe with both linear response theory and the rigid muffin-tin approximation suggested that pairing electrons are mainly mediated by the Li low-lying phonon vibrations, and the increase of the Li EPC matrix element $〈I_i^2〉$ with pressure is responsible for the increased EPC parameter $\lambda$. The application of the Allen–Dynes modified McMillan equation reveals high superconducting critical temperatures of 15.2 K at 80 GPa and 18.4 K at 100 GPa for P2₁/m LiBe.     

Shear induced phase transition in PbO under high pressure

We have studied the structural behavior of lead monoxide (PbO) as a function of pressure via angular dispersive X-ray diffraction employing two different pressure transmitting media that were quasi-hydrostatic (N₂) and non-hydrostatic (MgO), respectively. Besides litharge (-PbO) and massicot (β-PbO), which are both stable at ambient pressure, there is an orthorhombic γ-PbO phase which appears upon application of pressure to -PbO. We have found that the orthorhombic γ-PbO phase is favored by shear stress under non-hydrostatic conditions. -PbO shows strong anisotropy in compressibility. The a-axis is rather incompressible with a linear stiffness coefficient of K_a0=540(30) GPa whereas the c-axis stiffness is K_c0=25(1) GPa. The bulk modulus of -PbO is K₀=23.1(3) GPa and its derivative .     

Evidence of polymorphic transformations of Sn under high pressure

The high-pressure polymorphs and structural transformation of Sn were experimentally investigated using angledispersive synchrotron x-ray diffraction up to 108.9 GPa. The results show that at least at 12.8 GPa β-Sn→bct structure transformation was completed and no two-phase coexistence was found. By using a long-wavelength x-ray, we resolved the diffraction peaks splitting and discovered the formation of a new distorted orthorhombic structure bco from the bct structure at 31.8 GPa. The variation of the lattice parameters and their ratios with pressure further validate the observation of the bco polymorph. The bcc structure appears at 40.9 GPa and coexists with the bco phase throughout a wide pressure range of40.9 GPa–73.1 GPa. Above 73.1 GPa, only the bcc polymorph is observed. The systematically experimental investigation confirms the phase transition sequence of Sn as β-Sn→bct→bco→ bco + bcc→bcc upon compression to 108.9 GPa at room temperature.     

Electrical property and phase transition of CdSe under high pressure

In situ electrical resistivity measurement of CdSe was performed under high pressure and moderate temperature using a diamond anvil cell equipped with a microcircuit. With the pressure increasing, a sharp drop in resistivity of over two orders of magnitude was observed at about 2.6 GPa, it was caused by the transition to the rock-salt CdSe. After that, the resistivity decreased linearly with pressure. However, in different pressure range, the decreasing degree was obviously different. This attributed to the different electron structures. By fitting to the curve of pressure dependence of resistivity in different pressure range, the relationship of the band gap to pressure was given and the metallization pressure was speculated to be in the range of 70-100 GPa. The temperature dependence of resistivity showed that in the experimental temperature and pressure range the resistivity had a positive temperature coefficient.     

Structures and phase transitions of ScH3 under high pressure

The structures and the phase transitions of ScH3 under high pressure are investigated using first-principles calculations. The calculated structural parameters at zero pressure agree well with the available experimental data. With increasing pressure, the transition sequence hcp (GdH3 -type)→ C2/m →fcc→hcp (YH3-type)→Cmcm of ScH3 is predicted first; the corresponding transition pressures at 0 K are 23 GPa, 25 GPa, 348 GPa, and 477 GPa, respectively. The C2/m symmetry structure is a possible candidate but not a good one as the intermediate state from hexagonal to cubic in ScH3 . On the other hand, via the analysis of the structures of hexagonal ScH2.9 , cubic ScH3 , and cubic ScH2 , we find that the repulsive interactions of H-H atoms must play an important role in the transition from hexagonal to cubic.     

高压下有序晶态合金Fe3Pt的低能声子不稳定性及磁性反常

有序晶态Fe₃Pt因瓦合金处于一种特殊的磁临界状态, 这种磁临界状态下体系的晶格动力学稳定性对压力极为敏感. 基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理的投影缀加平面波方法研究了不同晶态合金的Fe₃Pt的焓和磁性随压力的变化规律, 结果表明, 在压力小于18.54 GPa下, P4/mbm结构是热力学稳定的相. Pm3m结构、I4/mmm结构、DO₂₂结构的Fe₃Pt在铁磁性坍塌临界压力附近体系的总磁矩急剧下降并具有振荡现象, 且I4/mmm结构和DO₂₂结构的Fe₃Pt 在临界压力附近出现了Fe1原子磁矩反转现象. 在43 GPa下, DO₂₂结构的Fe₃Pt出现了亚铁磁微观磁特性突然增强且伴随着体积突然增大的现象. 在高压下, 对Pm3m结构Fe₃Pt的晶格动力学计算表明, 压力小于26.95 GPa的铁磁态下体系的自发磁化诱导了体系横向声学支声子软化, 表明体系中存在很强的自发体积磁致伸缩. 特别是在铁磁性坍塌临界压力41.9 GPa至磁性完全消失的57.25 GPa压力区间, 晶格动力学稳定性对压力更加敏感. 压力大于57.25 GPa时, 压力诱导了体系声子谱的稳定.     

Anomalous phase transition of InN nanowires under high pressure

Uniform InN nanowires were studied under pressures up to 35.5 GPa by using in situ synchrotron radiation x-ray diffraction technique at room temperature. An anomalous phase transition behavior has been discovered. Contrary to the results in the literature, which indicated that In N undergoes a fully reversible phase transition from the wurtzite structure to the rocksalt type structure, the In N nanowires in this study unusually showed a partially irreversible phase transition. The released sample contained the metastable rocksalt phase as well as the starting wurtzite one. The experimental findings of this study also reveal the potentiality of high pressure techniques to synthesize In N nanomaterials with the metastable rocksalt type structure, in addition to the generally obtained zincblende type one.     

New phase transition of solid bromine under high pressure

Solid bromine has been studied by x-ray absorption spectroscopy experiments up to a maximum pressure of 75 GPa. The data analysis of the extended fine structure reveals that the intramolecular distance first increases, reaching its maximum value at 25+/-5 GPa. From this value the intramolecular distance abruptly begins to decrease evidencing a nonpreviously observed phase transformation taking place at 25+/-5 GPa. A maximum variation of 0.08 A is observed at 65+/-5 GPa where again a phase transition occurs. This last transformation could correspond with the recently observed change to an incommensurate modulated phase. We discuss the possible generalization of the observed new phase transition at 25+/-5 GPa to the case of the other halogens.     

Volume collapse phase transitions in cerium-praseodymium alloys under high pressure

Cerium-12at%Praseodymium(Ce_0.88Pr_0.12) and Ce-50at%Praseodymium(Ce_0.50Pr_0.50) alloy samples that contain a random solid-solution of Ce (4f¹ (J?=?5/2)) and Pr (4f² (J?=?4)) localized f-states have been studied by angle dispersive x-ray diffraction in a diamond anvil cell to a pressure of 65?GPa and 150?GPa respectively using a synchrotron source. Ce_0.88Pr_0.12 alloy crystallizes in a face-centered cubic (γ-phase) structure at ambient conditions, while Ce_0.50Pr_0.50 alloy crystallizes in the double hexagonal close packed (dhcp) structure at ambient conditions. Two distinct volume collapse transitions are observed in Ce_0.88Pr_0.12 alloy at 1.5?GPa and 18?GPa with volume change of 8.5% and 3% respectively. In contrast, Ce_0.50Pr_0.50 alloy shows only a single volume collapse of 5.6% at 20?GPa on phase transformation to α-Uranium structure under high pressure. Electrical transport measurements under high pressure show anomalies in electrical resistance at phase transitions for both compositions of this alloy.     

Self-excited transverse combustion instabilities in a high pressure lean premixed jet flame

An experimental investigation of self-excited combustion instabilities in a high pressure, lean premixed natural gas jet flame is presented. The combustor is designed with optical access and is instrumented with high frequency pressure transducers at multiple axial and circumferential locations. OH*-chemiluminescence measurements performed at a frequency of 50 kHz were temporally synchronized with the acoustic measurements recorded from the pressure transducer array during the test. Two representative test conditions are analyzed in detail: Flame 1 (F1) that presents longitudinal mode dynamics $(p^{\prime }/p_c=3\%)$ and Flame 2 (F2) that presents high amplitude transverse instabilities $(p^{\prime }/p_c=15\%)$. Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA) and Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) analysis indicate a strong correlation of both instabilities to flame-vortex interactions. Longitudinal mode instabilities are correlated with axisymmetric vortex shedding about the combustor axis that result in periodic axial variations in heat release at the 1L frequency. Transverse mode instabilities correspond to asymmetric vortex shedding pattern that drive transverse variations in heat release at the fundamental 1T frequency of the combustion chamber. The phase relationship of the flame emission intensity and the chamber head-end pressure measurement at the 1T frequency indicates presence of a non-stationary transverse mode that rotates about the chamber axis at 55 Hz.     

On clustering effects and phase instabilities in high energy nuclear collisions

On the basis of a nuclear matter model calculation at finite temperature it is shown that at densities of about 1/15 of normal nuclear mattor density a new metastable phase exists which is determined by cluster formation effects. The existence of a low density isomer might be related to the recently observed anomalous short reaction mean free paths from 2 GeV/N heavy ion collisions.     

Superconductivity and phase compositions in annealed amorphous Nb-Si alloys under high pressure

We report the results of amorphous Nb₈₁Si₁₉ and Nb₇₇Si₂₃ alloys annealed at high pressure but at a pressure lower than that used to synthesize single-phase A15 Nb₃Si. The lower pressure gives rise to the decomposition of the alloys into a multi-phase state consisting of A15 Nb₃Si, Γ-Nb₅Si₃, L1₂-type Nb₃Si and Nb. The lattice constants are smaller and T_c higher than those obtained for the single-phase samples. We predict the T_c of stoichiometric A15 Nb₃Si to be 25 K.