Melting of dense sodium.
High-pressure high-temperature synchrotron diffraction measurements reveal a maximum on the melting curve of Na in the bcc phase at approximately 31 GPa and 1000 K and a steep decrease in melting temperature in its fcc phase. The results extend the melting curve by an order of magnitude up to 130 GPa. Above 103 GPa, Na crystallizes in a sequence of phases with complex structures with unusually low melting temperatures, reaching 300 K at 118 GPa, and an increased melting temperature is observed with further increases in pressure.
Gregoryanz
Eugene
E
Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5251 Broad Branch Road N.W., Washington, D.C. 20015, USA.
Degtyareva
Olga
O
Somayazulu
Maddury
M
Hemley
Russell J
RJ
Mao
Ho-kwang
HK