Crystal structure and thermoelastic properties of (Mg[subscript 0.91]Fe[subscript 0.09])SiO[subscript 3] postperovskite up to 135 GPa and 2,700 K
- MIT
Intriguing seismic observations have been made for the bottom 400 km of Earth's mantle (the Dll region) over the past few decades, yet the origin of these seismic structures has not been well understood. Recent theoretical calculations have predicted many unusual changes in physical properties across the postperovskite transition, perovskite (Pv) {yields} postperovskite (PPv), that may provide explanations for the seismic observations. Here, we report measurements of the crystal structure of (Mg{sub 0.91}Fe{sub 0.09})SiO{sub 3}-PPv under quasi-hydrostatic conditions up to the pressure (P)-temperature (T) conditions expected for the core-mantle boundary (CMB). The measured crystal structure is in excellent agreement with the first-principles calculations. We found that bulk sound speed (V{sub {phi}}) decreases by 2.4 {+-} 1.4% across the PPv transition. Combined with the predicted shear-wave velocity (V{sub S} ) increase, our measurements indicate that lateral variations in mineralogy between Pv and PPv may result in the anticorrelation between the V{sub {phi}} and V{sub S} anomalies at the D'' region. Also, density increases by 1.6 {+-} 0.4% and Grueneisen parameter decreases by 21 {+-} 15% across the PPv transition, which will dynamically stabilize the PPv lenses observed in recent seismic studies.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 1006646
- Journal Information:
- Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 105, Issue (21) ; 05, 2008; ISSN 0027-8424
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- ENGLISH
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