Experimental Evidence for a Crossover between Two Distinct Mechanisms of Amorphization in Ice Ih under Pressure

We report neutron scattering data which reveal the central role of phonon softening leading to a negative melting line, solid-state amorphization, and negative thermal expansion of ice. We find that pressure-induced amorphization is due to mechanical melting at low temperatures, while at higher temperatures amorphization is governed by thermal melting (violations of Born’s and Lindemann’s criteria, respectively). This confirms earlier conjectures of a crossover between two distinct amorphization mechanisms and provides a natural explanation for the strong annealing observed in high-density amorphous ice.