The counter-intuitive phenomenon of pressure-induced softening in materials is likely to be caused by the same dynamical behaviour that produces negative thermal expansion. Through a combination of molecular dynamics simulation on an idealised model and neutron diffraction at variable temperature and pressure, we show the existence of extraordinary and unprecedented pressure-induced softening in the negative thermal expansion material scandium fluoride, ScF3, with values of the pressure-derivative of the bulk modulus B, B′=∂B/∂P, reaching as low as −40±1.
@article{arxiv.2003.13475,
title = {Colossal pressure-induced softening in scandium fluoride},
author = {Zhongsheng Wei and Lei Tan and Guanqun Cai and Anthony E Phillips and Ivan da Silva and Mark G Kibble and Martin T Dove},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2003.13475},
year = {2020}
}