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Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 195701 (2005) [4 pages]

High-Pressure Melting of MgSiO3

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A. B. Belonoshko1,2, N. V. Skorodumova3, A. Rosengren2, R. Ahuja3, B. Johansson1,3, L. Burakovsky4, and D. L. Preston5
1Applied Materials Physics, Department of Material Science and Engineering, The Royal Institute of Technology, 10044 Stockholm, Sweden
2Condensed Matter Theory Group, AlbaNova University Center, The Royal Institute of Technology, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
3Condensed Matter Theory Group, Department of Physics, Uppsala University, 75121 Uppsala, Sweden
4Theoretical and Applied Physics Divisions, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
5Applied Physics Divisions, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA

Received 7 December 2004; published 16 May 2005

The melting curve of MgSiO3 perovskite has been determined by means of ab initio molecular dynamics complemented by effective pair potentials, and a new phenomenological model of melting. Using first principles ground state calculations, we find that the MgSiO3 perovskite phase transforms into post perovskite at pressures above 100 GPa, in agreement with recent theoretical and experimental studies. We find that the melting curve of MgSiO3, being very steep at pressures below 60 GPa, rapidly flattens on increasing pressure. The experimental controversy on the melting of the MgSiO3 perovskite at high pressures is resolved, confirming the data by Zerr and Boehler.

© 2005 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.195701
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.195701
PACS:
64.10.+h, 64.70.Dv, 71.15.Pd
 
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