Phase transitions and spin state of iron in FeO under the conditions of Earth's deep interior

E. Greenberg*, R. Nazarov, A. Landa, J. Ying, R. Q. Hood, B. Hen, R. Jeanloz, V. B. Prakapenka, V. V. Struzhkin, G. Kh Rozenberg, I. V. Leonov

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Iron-bearing oxides undergo a series of pressure-induced electronic, spin, and structural transitions that can cause seismic anomalies and dynamic instabilities in Earth's mantle and outer core. We employ x-ray diffraction and x-ray emission spectroscopy along with density-functional theory+dynamical mean-field theory calculations to characterize the electronic structure and spin states, and crystal-structural properties of wüstite (Fe1-xO)-a basic oxide component of Earth's interior-at high pressure-temperature conditions up to 140 GPa and 2100 K. We find that FeO exhibits complex polymorphism under pressure, with abnormal compression behavior associated with electron-spin and crystallographic phase transitions, and resulting in a substantial change of bulk modulus. Our results reveal the existence of a high-pressure phase characterized by a metallic high-spin state of iron at the pressure-temperature conditions near to those of Earth's core-mantle boundary. The presence of high-spin metallic iron near the mantle can significantly influence the geophysical and geochemical properties of Earth's deep interior.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberL241103
JournalPhysical Review B
Volume107
Issue number24
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Jun 2023

Funding

FundersFunder number
National Science Foundation-Earth SciencesEAR-1634415
National Science Foundation
U.S. Department of EnergyDE-FG02-94ER14466
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Science
National Nuclear Security AdministrationDE-NA0001974
National Nuclear Security Administration
Argonne National LaboratoryDE-AC02-06CH11357
Argonne National Laboratory
Lawrence Livermore National LaboratoryDE-AC52-07NA27344, CMAP 417874-G, DE-NA0004032
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Israel Science Foundation1552/18, 1748/20, 1189/14
Israel Science Foundation
Russian Science Foundation19-72-30043
Russian Science Foundation
state assignment of Minobrnauki of Russia122021000039-4

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Phase transitions and spin state of iron in FeO under the conditions of Earth's deep interior'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this