Novel non-Joule heating technique: Externally laser-heated diamond anvil cell.

The externally heated diamond anvil cell (EHDAC) conducts high pressure and temperature experiments with spatial uniformity and temporal stability. These are conventionally combined with various spectroscopies and x-ray diffraction measurements. EHDAC techniques perform Joule heating on a heater placed close to or directly in contact with diamond anvils. However, the electrical wiring and heater required for Joule heating complicate EHDAC setups, hindering easy access for the measurement of physical properties. This study proposes an EHDAC technique using laser- instead of Joule-heating. We successfully achieved temperatures reaching 900 K by applying heat to diamond anvils through laser-heating of the gaskets with thermally insulating anvil seats. To test this setup, we measured the melting temperature of H2O ice VII, which was consistent with previous studies. We also measured the high-pressure and temperature impedance of H2O VII and verified the capability of electrical resistivity measurements in this setup. This technique allows various physical property measurements owing to its simple setup required for externally laser-heated diamond anvil cell experiments. The unique characteristics of this heating technique are that (1) no heaters or wiring are required, (2) it exhibits the most efficient heating among EHDAC studies, (3) it maintains the DAC body at room temperature, and (4) diamond anvils do not detach from anvil seats after the EHDAC experiment. This method significantly simplifies the experimental setup, which allows much easier access to various physical property measurements using an EHDAC.

Melting phase relations in Fe-Si-H at high pressure and implications for Earth's inner core crystallization.

Hydrogen could be an important light element in planetary cores, but its effect on phase diagrams of iron alloys is not well known because the solubility of H in Fe is minimal at ambient pressure and high-pressure experiments on H-bearing systems have been challenging. Considering that silicon can be another major light element in planetary cores, here we performed melting experiments on the Fe-Si-H system at ~ 50 GPa and obtained the ternary liquidus phase relations and the solid/liquid partition coefficient, D of Si and H based on in-situ high-pressure X-ray diffraction measurements and ex-situ chemical and textural characterizations on recovered samples. Liquid crystallized hexagonal close-packed (hcp) (Fe0.93Si0.07)H0.25, which explains the observed density and velocities of the Earth's solid inner core. The relatively high DSi = 0.94(4) and DH = 0.70(12) suggest that in addition to Si and H, the liquid outer core includes other light elements such as O, which is least partitioned into solid Fe and can thus explain the density difference between the outer and inner core. H and O, as well as Si, are likely to be major core light elements, supporting the sequestration of a large amount of water in the Earth's core.