First-principles equation of state of gold

Clapeyron slope reversal in the melting curve of AuGa2 at 5.5 GPa

We use x-ray diffraction in a resistively heated diamond anvil cell to extend the melting curve of AuGa2 beyond its minimum at 5.5 GPa and 720 K, and to constrain the high-temperature phase boundaries between cubic (fluorite structure), orthorhombic (cottunite structure) and monoclinic phases. We document a large change in Clapeyron slope that coincides with the transitions from cubic to lower symmetry phases, showing that a structural transition is the direct cause of the change in slope. In addition, moderate (~30 K) to large (90 K) hysteresis is detected between melting and freezing, from which we infer that at high pressures, AuGa2 crystals can remain in a metastable state at more than 5% above the thermodynamic melting temperature.

Shock Hugoniot of osmium up to 800 GPa from first principles calculations

First principles total energy calculations on hcp, ω (a three atom simple hexagonal), β (bcc) and fcc phases of osmium have been performed as a function of hydrostatic compression employing the FP-LAPW method. The comparison of total energies of these phases up to a maximum compression V/V(0) = 0.58 (pressure∼700 GPa) shows that the hcp structure remains stable up to this compression. The 300 K isotherm is determined after adding finite temperature thermal contributions to the total energy calculated as a function of volume at 0 K. From the theoretically determined isotherm, we have derived the shock Hugoniot of this metal and determined the shock parameters C(0) and s to be 4.48 km s(-1) and 1.32, respectively. Employing the theoretically calculated Gruneisen parameter in the differential form of the Lindemann melting rule, we have determined the variation of melting point of the osmium with pressure. The theoretically derived melting curve and the temperature rise along the Hugoniot predict the shock melting of osmium at ∼447 GPa with a corresponding temperature of ∼9203 K.

Ultrahigh-Pressure Melting of Lead: A Multidisciplinary Study

Measurements of the melting temperature of lead, carried out to pressures of 1 megabar (10(11) pascal) and temperatures near 4000 kelvin by means of a laser-heated diamond cell, are in excellent agreement with the results of previous shock-wave experiments. The data are analyzed by means of first principles quantum mechanical calculations, and the agreement documents the reliability of current experimental and theoretical techniques for studies of melting at ultrahigh pressures. These studies have potentially wide-ranging applications, from planetary science to condensed matter physics.