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Mathon, O.

Publications and source records attributed to Mathon, O..

New Constraints on the Melting Temperature and Phase Stability of Shocked Iron up to 270 GPa Probed by Ultrafast X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy

Studying the properties and phase diagram of iron at high-pressure and high-temperature conditions has relevant implications for Earth’s inner structure and dynamics and the temperature of the inner core boundary (ICB) at 330 GPa. Also, a hexagonal-closed packed to body-centered cubic (bcc) phase transition has been predicted by many theoretical works but observed only in a few experiments. The recent coupling of high-power laser with advanced x-ray sources from synchrotrons allows for novel approaches to address these issues. Here, we present a study on shock compressed iron up to 270 GPa and 5800 K probed by single-pulse (100 ps FWHM) x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Based on the analysis of the XAS spectra, we provide structural identification and bulk temperature measurements along the Hugoniot up to the melting. These results rule out the predicted transition to a high-temperature bcc phase and allow one to discriminate among existing equations of state models and melting curves. In particular, we report the first bulk temperature measurement in shock compressed iron on the melting plateau at 240(20) GPa and 5345(600) K. The melting curve resulting from our work extrapolates to a temperature of 6202(514) K at 330 GPa and represents a refined upper bound for the ICB temperature. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Balugani, S.↗

Martensitic fcc-hcp transformation pathway in solid krypton and xenon and its effect on their equations of state

The martensitic transformation is a fundamental physical phenomenon at the origin of important industrial applications. However, the underlying microscopic mechanism, which is of critical importance to explain the outstanding mechanical properties of martensitic materials, is still not fully understood. This is because for most martensitic materials the transformation is a fast process that makes in situ studies extremely challenging. Noble solids krypton and xenon undergo a progressive pressure-induced face-centered cubic (fcc) to hexagonal close-packed (hcp) martensitic transition with a very wide coexistence domain. Here, we took advantage of this unique feature to study the detailed transformation progress at the atomic level by employing in situ x-ray diffraction and absorption spectroscopy. We evidenced a four-stage pathway and suggest that the lattice mismatch between the fcc and hcp forms plays a key role in the generation of strain. We also determined precisely the effect of the transformation on the compression behavior of these materials.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

White-line evolution in shocked solid Ta evidenced by synchrotron x-ray absorption spectroscopy

Time-resolved x-ray absorption experiments have been performed on shocked tantalum. Using a single 100 ps synchrotron x-ray pulse, nanosecond-lived equilibrium states of shocked solid Ta have been measured by L 3 -edge absorption spectroscopy. The energy shift and intensity change of the white line were measured up to 130 GPa and 2000 K. The experimental results are discussed in light of density functional theory calculations and FEFF simulations. Lastly, the absence of occurrence of the hcp-ω phase is suggested from the analysis of the shape of the white line.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗