On optical phonons and elasticity in the transition metals Fe, Ru and Re at high pressure

The frequencies of the transverse-optical Γ-point phonon were determined for the hexagonal transition metals \chem{Fe}, \chem{Ru} and \chem{Re} by high-pressure Raman spectroscopy up to 60\un{GPa}. Comparison is made with available theoretical frequency-data. The elastic shear constants C44, determined from the Raman frequencies, are consistent with ultrasonic low-pressure data and theoretical high-pressure data and do not support the high-pressure data obtained from lattice-strain experiments

Partitioning experiments in the laser-heated diamond anvil cell: volatile content in the Earth's core.

The present state of the Earth evolved from energetic events that were determined early in the history of the Solar System. A key process in reconciling this state and the observable mantle composition with models of the original formation relies on understanding the planetary processing that has taken place over the past 4.5Ga. Planetary size plays a key role and ultimately determines the pressure and temperature conditions at which the materials of the early solar nebular segregated. We summarize recent developments with the laser-heated diamond anvil cell that have made possible extension of the conventional pressure limit for partitioning experiments as well as the study of volatile trace elements. In particular, we discuss liquid-liquid, metal-silicate (M-Sil) partitioning results for several elements in a synthetic chondritic mixture, spanning a wide range of atomic number-helium to iodine. We examine the role of the core as a possible host of both siderophile and trace elements and the implications that early segregation processes at deep magma ocean conditions have for current mantle signatures, both compositional and isotopic. The results provide some of the first experimental evidence that the core is the obvious replacement for the long-sought, deep mantle reservoir. If so, they also indicate the need to understand the detailed nature and scale of core-mantle exchange processes, from atomic to macroscopic, throughout the age of the Earth to the present day

Raman spectroscopic study of hydrous wadsleyite (beta-Mg2SiO4) to 50 GPa

Raman spectra of hydrous β-Mg2SiO4 (1.65 wt% H2O) have been measured in a diamond-anvil cell with helium as a pressure-transmitting medium at room temperature to 50 GPa. We observe three OH-stretching modes, a doublet with components at 3329 and 3373 cm-1, which decrease linearly with pressure, and a single mode at 3586 cm-1, which remains nearly constant up to 24 GPa before decreasing at higher pressures. Assessment of the mode frequencies and their pressure dependence, together with previous results from X-ray and IR data, are consistent with protonation of the O1 site in agreement with previous studies. Strict assignment of Raman activity awaits detailed structural models. The nature of the protonation in wadsleyite may require more specific experimental probes for full solution of the hydrogen-site problem

Diffraction study of pressure-amorphized ZrW2O8 using in situ and recovered samples

High-energy x-ray diffraction data from a series of amorphous ZrW 2O8 samples, recovered from a number of different pressures, have been measured and compared with similar data collected from a sample contained within a diamond anvil cell and measured in situ at high pressure. Samples at lower pressures are a mix of crystalline and amorphous phases, whereas those above 7 GPa (both recovered and in situ) appear to be completely amorphous. Although there are only very small changes in the diffraction data from the pure phase samples recovered from different pressures, larger changes are observed in situ as a function of pressure. However, the same structural model can be used to describe all data, albeit using different densities. This strongly suggests that the amorphous phase is undergoing nonreconstructive compression in this pressure range, without fundamental modification of the underlying topology. © 2011 American Physical Society