High Pressure Research In Mineral Physics

A comprehensive review of recent advances and new directions in high pressure mineral research using static and dynamic compression methods.

Treatise on Geophysics: Mineral Physics, Volume 2, provides a comprehensive review of the current state of understanding of mineral physics. Each chapter demonstrates the significant progress that has been made in the understanding of the physics and chemistry of minerals, and also highlights a number of issues which are still outstanding or that need further work to resolve current contradictions. The book first reviews the current status of our understanding of the nature of the deep Earth. These include the seismic properties of rocks and minerals; problems of the lower mantle and the core-mantle boundary; and the state of knowledge on mantle chemistry and the nature and evolution of the core. The discussions then turn to the theory underlying high-pressure, high-temperature physics, and the major experimental methods being developed to probe this parameter space. The remaining chapters explain the specific techniques for measuring elastic and acoustic properties, electronic and magnetic properties, and rheological properties; the nature and origin of anisotropy in the Earth; the properties of melt; and the magnetic and electrical properties of mantle phases. Self-contained volume starts with an overview of the subject then explores each topic with in depth detail Extensive reference lists and cross references with other volumes to facilitate further research Full-color figures and tables support the text and aid in understanding Content suited for both the expert and non-expert

Volume 37 of Reviews in Mineralogy, divided into three sections, begins with an overview (Chapter 1) of the remarkable advances in the ability to subject minerals-not only as pristine single-crystal samples but also complex, natural mineral assemblages-to extreme pressure-temperature conditions in the laboratory. These advances parallel the development of an arsenal of analytical methods for measuring mineral behavior under those conditions. This sets the stage for section two (Chapters 2-8) which focuses on high-pressure minerals in their geological setting as a function of depth. This top-down approach begins with what we know from direct sampling of high-pressure minerals and rocks brought to the surface to detailed geophysical observations of the vast interior. The third section (Chapters 9-19) presents the material fundamentals, starting from properties of a chemical nature, such as crystal chemistry, thermochemistry, element partitioning, and melting, and moving toward the domain of mineral physics such as melt properties, equations of state, elasticity, rheology, vibrational dynamics, bonding, electronic structure, and magnetism. The Review thus moves from the complexity of rocks to their mineral components and finally to fundamental properties arising directly from the play of electrons and nuclei. This volume was prepared for a short course by the same title, organized by Russell J. Hemley and Ho-kwang Mao and sponsored by the Mineralogical Society of America, December 4-6, 1998 on the campus of the University of California at Davis.

Significant achievements have been made at the cross-roads of physics and planetary science. In the second half of the twentieth century, the discipline of planetary sciences has witnessed three major episodes which have revolutionized its approach and content: (i) the plate-tectonic theory, (ii) human landing and discoveries in planetary astronomy and (iii) the extraordinary technical advancement in high P-T studies, which have been abetted by a vast improvement in computational methods. Using these new computational methods, such as first principles including ab initio models, calculations have been made for the electronic structure, bonding, thermal EOS, elasticity, melting, thermal conductivity and diffusivity. In this monograph, the boundaries of the definitions of a petrologist, geochemist, geophysicist or a mineralogist have been willfully eliminated to bring them all under the spectrum of "high-pressure geochemistry" when they deal with any material (quintessentially a chemical assemblage) - terrestrial or extraterrestrial - under the conditions of high-pressure and temperature. Thus, a petrologist using a spectrometer or any instrument for high-pressure studies of a rock or a mineral, or a geochemist using them for chemical synthesis and characterization, is better categorized as a "high-pressure geochemist" rather than any other kind of disciplinarian. The contents of this monograph bring together, under one cover, apparently disparate disciplines like solid-earth geophysics and geochemistry as well as material science and condensed-matter physics to present a thorough overview of high pressure geochemistry. Indeed, such interdisciplinary activities led to the discovery of new phenomena such as high P-T behaviour in metal oxides (e.g. Mott transition), novel transitions such as amorphization, changes in order-disorder in crystals and the anomalous properties of oxide melts.

High pressure mineral physics is a field that has shaped our understanding of deep planetary interiors and revealed new material phenomena occurring at extreme conditions. Comprised of sixteen chapters written by well-established experts, this book covers recent advances in static and dynamic compression techniques and enhanced diagnostic capabilities, including synchrotron X-ray and neutron diffraction, spectroscopic measurements, in situ X-ray diffraction under dynamic loading, and multigrain crystallography at megabar pressures. Applications range from measuring equations of state, elasticity, and deformation of materials at high pressure, to high pressure synthesis, thermochemistry of high pressure phases, and new molecular compounds and superconductivity under extreme conditions. This book also introduces experimental geochemistry in the laser-heated diamond-anvil cell enabled by the focused ion beam technique for sample recovery and quantitative chemical analysis at submicron scale. Each chapter ends with an insightful perspective of future directions, making it an invaluable source for graduate students and researchers.