Data sets used to prepare Figures 1–15 in the Physical Review B article entitled “Ring compaction as a mechanism of densification in amorphous silica.” The data sets refer to the structure of pristine or densified silica (SiO_2) glass. The measured data sets were obtained by using either neutron or high-energy x-ray diffraction. The modelled data sets were obtained by refining the atomic configurations produced by molecular dynamics simulations. The mechanisms of densification in amorphous materials are of importance for understanding their response to high pressure conditions. Such pressures are encountered during sharp contact loading or when magma is confined below the Earth's surface. Our work shows that ring compaction is an important mechanism of densification in amorphous materials that form network structures for which silica is an exemplar
