Related papers: Light matter in the core of the Earth: its identit…

Tricritical points separate continuous and discontinuous symmetry breaking transitions. They occur in a variety of physical systems and their mathematical models. A tricritical point is used to determine a liquid-solid phase transition line…

Solidification as a first order phase transition is described in the Landau theory by the same equation as tricritical phenomena. Here, the solidification or melting temperature against pressure curve is modelled to end at a tricritical…

The Earth's core consists of a solid ball with a radius of 1221 Km, surrounded by a liquid shell which extends up to 3480 Km from the centre of the planet, roughly half way towards the surface (the mean radius of the Earth is 6373 km). The…

The Earth acts as a gigantic heat engine driven by decay of radiogenic isotopes and slow cooling, which gives rise to plate tectonics, volcanoes, and mountain building. Another key product is the geomagnetic field, generated in the liquid…

Hydrogen is considered a major light element in Earth's core, yet the thermodynamics of its superionic phase and its distribution in the inner core remain unclear. Here, we compute ab initio Gibbs free energies for liquid and superionic hcp…

The improvements of the knowledge of the seismic structure of the inner core and the complexities thereby revealed ask for a dynamical origin. Sub-solidus convection was one of the early suggestions to explain the seismic anisotropy, but it…

Earth's inner core exhibits an unusually high Poisson's ratio and noticeable elastic anisotropy. The mechanisms responsible for these features are critical for understanding the evolution of the Earth but remain unclear. This study…

The crystal structure of iron in the Earth's inner core remains debated. Most recent experiments suggest a hexagonal-close-packed (hcp) phase. In simulations, it has been generally agreed that the hcp-Fe is stable at inner core pressures…

The search for dark matter is one of the crucial open problems in both particle physics and cosmology. If dark matter scatters with Standard Model particles, it could accumulate inside the Earth and begin to annihilate, producing heat…

Exoplanets with masses similar to that of Earth have recently been discovered in extrasolar systems. A first order question for understanding their dynamics is to know whether they possess Earth like liquid metallic cores. However, the iron…

Dark matter constitutes the great majority of the matter content in the Universe, but its microscopic nature remains an intriguing mystery, with profound implications for particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology. Here we shed light on…

An accurate pressure scale is a fundamental requirement to understand planetary interiors. Here, we establish a primary pressure scale extending to the multi-megabar pressures of the Earth's core, by combined measurement of the acoustic…

Inner core translation, with solidification on one hemisphere and melting on the other, provides a promising basis for understanding the hemispherical dichotomy of the inner core, as well as the anomalous stable layer observed at the base…

The Earth's inner core plays a vital role in the dynamics of our planet and is itself strongly exposed to dynamic processes as evidenced by a complex pattern of elastic structure. To gain deeper insight into the nature of these processes we…

Several important geophysical features such as heat flux at the Core-Mantle Boundary or geodynamo production are intimately related with the temperature profile in the Earth's core. However, measuring the melting curve of iron at conditions…

Earth core is composed of iron (Fe) alloyed with light elements, e.g., silicon (Si). Its thermal conductivity critically affects Earth thermal structure, evolution, and dynamics, as it controls the magnitude of thermal and compositional…

The accretion of a terrestrial body and differentiation of its silicate/oxide mantle from iron core provide abundant energy for heating its interior to temperatures much higher than the present day Earth. The consequences of differentiation…

We compute the thermal conductivity and electrical resistivity of solid hcp Fe to pressures and temperatures of Earth's core. We find significant contributions from electron-electron scattering, usually neglected at high temperatures in…

Iron represents the principal constituent of the Earth's core, but its high-pressure melting diagram remains ambiguous. Here we present a simple analytical approach to predict the melting properties of iron under deep-Earth conditions. In…

Thermal ionization is a critical process at temperatures T > 10 3 K, particularly during star formation. An increase in ionization leads to a decrease in nonideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) resistivities, which has a significant impact on…