title: Melting of dense sodium.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5251 Broad Branch Road N.W., Washington, D.C. 20015, USA.
authors.forename: Eugene
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gregoryanz
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Degtyareva
authors.forename: Maddury
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Somayazulu
authors.forename: Russell J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Hemley
authors.forename: Ho-kwang
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Mao