Pressure-driven evolution of the covalent network in CaB6.

We synthesized and solved an unexpectedly complex crystal structure of CaB(6) under high pressures (up to 44 GPa) and temperatures. The only known crystal structure in the large family of metal hexaborides, a simple cubic cP7 type discovered over 80 years ago, is shown here to transform into a tetragonal tI56 configuration comprised of unfamiliar 24-atom boron units. The interpretation of the convoluted x-ray diffraction pattern was accomplished with an ab initio evolutionary search which identified the tI56 structure (28 atoms per primitive unit cell) without any parameter input. The exotic CaB(6) phase was successfully quenched down to ambient pressure.

Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction Measurements of Single-Crystal Hydrogen to 26.5 Gigapascals.

The crystal structure and equation of state of solid hydrogen have been determined directly to 26.5 gigapascals at room temperature by new synchrotron x-ray diffraction techniques. Solid hydrogen remains in the hexagonal close-packed structure under these pressure-temperature conditions and exhibits increasing structural anisotropy with pressure. The pressure-volume curve determined from the x-ray data represents the most accurate experimental measurement of the equation of state to date in this pressure range. The results remove the discrepancy between earlier indirect determinations and provide a new experimental constraint on the molecular-to-atomic transition predicted at higher pressures.

Comparison between x-ray scattering and velocity-interferometry measurements from shocked liquid deuterium.

The equation of state of light elements is essential to understand the structure of Jovian planets and inertial confinement fusion research. The Omega laser was used to drive a planar shock wave in the cryogenically cooled deuterium, creating warm dense matter conditions. X-ray scattering was used to determine the spectrum near the boundary of the collective and noncollective scattering regimes using a narrow band x-ray source in backscattering geometry. Our scattering spectra are thus sensitive to the individual electron motion as well as the collective plasma behavior and provide a measurement of the electron density, temperature, and ionization state. Our data are consistent with velocity-interferometry measurements previously taken on the same shocked deuterium conditions and presented by K. Falk et al. [High Energy Density Phys. 8, 76 (2012)]. This work presents a comparison of the two diagnostic systems and offers a detailed discussion of challenges encountered.

Structure of sodium above 100 GPa by single-crystal x-ray diffraction.

At pressures above a megabar (100 GPa), sodium crystallizes in a number of complex crystal structures with unusually low melting temperatures, reaching as low as 300 K at 118 GPa. We have utilized this unique behavior at extreme pressures to grow a single crystal of sodium at 108 GPa, and have investigated the complex crystal structure at this pressure using high-intensity x-rays from the new Diamond synchrotron source, in combination with a pressure cell with wide angular apertures. We confirm that, at 108 GPa, sodium is isostructural with the cI16 phase of lithium, and we have refined the full crystal structure of this phase. The results demonstrate the extension of single-crystal structure refinement beyond 100 GPa and raise the prospect of successfully determining the structures of yet more complex phases reported in sodium and other elements at extreme pressures.