title: Blueshifting the onset of optical UV absorption for water under pressure.
abstract: First-principles calculations show that the optical UV absorption onset of solid water is blueshifted with increasing pressure. Across several crystal structures and a wide pressure range, the optical gap increases almost linearly with external pressure, making solid water more transparent. The origin of this unusual effect can be traced back to an increased Stark shift caused by water's electrostatic environment at smaller volumes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, New Zealand. a.hermann@auckland.ac.nz
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hermann
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schwerdtfeger