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Diamond precipitation dynamics from hydrocarbons at icy planet interior conditions

Journal Article · · Nature Astronomy
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  1. SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); SLAC
  2. Univ. of Edinburgh, Scotland (United Kingdom)
  3. Univ. of Bayreuth (Germany)
  4. Univ. of Cologne (Germany)
  5. Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)
  6. Sorbonne Univ., Paris (France); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Paris (France)
  7. European XFEL, Schenefeld (Germany)
  8. Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Dresden (Germany)
  9. Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States)
  10. Yonsei Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)
  11. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
  12. Carnegie Inst. of Science, Washington, DC (United States)
  13. Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) (Korea, Republic of)
  14. Univ. of Grenoble Alpes (France); Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, Grenoble (France); Univ. Gustave Eiffel, Grenoble (France); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Grenoble (France)
  15. Hanyang Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)
  16. Albert-Ludwigs Univ., Freiburg (Germany)
  17. Univ. of Rostock (Germany)
  18. X-Spectrum GmbH, Hamburg (Germany); Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Albert-Ludwigs Univ., Freiburg (Germany)
  19. SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
The pressure and temperature conditions at which precipitation of diamond occurs from hydrocarbon mixtures is important for modelling the interior dynamics of icy planets. However, there is substantial disagreement from laboratory experiments, with those using dynamic compression techniques finding much more extreme conditions are required than in static compression. Here we report the time-resolved observation of diamond formation from statically compressed polystyrene, (C8H8)n, heated using the 4.5 MHz X-ray pulse trains at the European X-ray Free Electron Laser facility. Diamond formation is observed above 2,500 K from 19 GPa to 27 GPa, conditions representative of Uranus’s and Neptune’s shallow interiors, on 30 μs to 40 μs timescales. This is much slower than may be observed during the ~10 ns duration of typical dynamic compression experiments, revealing reaction kinetics to be the reason for the discrepancy. In conclusion, reduced pressure and temperature conditions for diamond formation has implications for icy planetary interiors, where diamond subduction leads to heating and could drive convection in the conductive ice layer that has a role in their magnetic fields.
Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-76SF00515; AC52-07NA27344
OSTI ID:
2324804
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 2507506
Report Number(s):
LLNL--JRNL-872143
Journal Information:
Nature Astronomy, Journal Name: Nature Astronomy Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 8; ISSN 2397-3366
Publisher:
Springer NatureCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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