Electrical conductivities of (Mg,Fe)O at extreme pressures and implications for planetary magma oceans

Nakajima, Miki; Harter, Sarah K.; Jasko, Alex V.; Polsin, Danae N.; Szumila, Ian; Cone, Kim A.; Lherm, Victor; Blackman, Eric G.; Dragulet, Francis; Stixrude, Lars; Trail, Dustin; Huff, Margaret F.; Rygg, J. Ryan; Paz, Angel; Collins, Gilbert W.; LaPierre, Alexa; Sprowal, Zaire

doi:10.1038/s41550-025-02729-x

Electrical conductivities of (Mg,Fe)O at extreme pressures and implications for planetary magma oceans

Journal Article · Wed Jan 14 19:00:00 EST 2026 · Nature Astronomy

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-025-02729-x· OSTI ID:3013329

^[1]; Harter, Sarah K. ^[1]; ^[1]; ^[1]; ^[2]; ^[1]; ^[3]; ^[1]; Dragulet, Francis ^[4]; ^[4]; Trail, Dustin ^[1]; Huff, Margaret F. ^[1]; ^[1]; ^[1]; Collins, Gilbert W. ^[1]; LaPierre, Alexa ^[1]; Sprowal, Zaire ^[1]

University of Rochester, NY (United States)
University of Rochester, NY (United States); Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC (United States)
University of Rochester, NY (United States); Université Paris-Saclay, Orsay (France)
University of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)

During planet formation, planets undergo many impacts that can generate magma oceans. When these crystallize, part of the magma densifies via iron enrichment and migrates to the core–mantle boundary, forming an iron-rich basal magma ocean (BMO). The BMO could generate a dynamo in early Earth and super-Earths if the electrical conductivity of the BMO, which is thought to be sensitive to its Fe content, is sufficiently high. To test this hypothesis, here we conduct laser-driven shock experiments on ferropericlase (Mg_x,Fe_1−x)O (0.95 ≤ x ≤ 1) as an Fe-rich BMO analogue, perform density functional theory molecular dynamics simulations on MgO and calculate the long-term evolution of super-Earths. We find that the d.c. conductivities of MgO and (Mg,Fe)O are indistinguishable between 467 GPa and 1,400 GPa, despite previous predictions. Here, we predict that super-Earths larger than 3–6 Earth masses can produce BMO-driven dynamos that are almost one order of magnitude stronger than core-driven dynamos for several billion years.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: University of Rochester, NY (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Science Foundation (NSF); Research Experiences for Undergraduates programme; Alfred P. Sloan Foundation; USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology

Grant/Contract Number:: NA0004144

OSTI ID:: 3013329

Journal Information:: Nature Astronomy, Journal Name: Nature Astronomy; ISSN 2397-3366

Publisher:: Springer Science and Business Media LLCCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Code release for Electrical conductivities of (Mg,Fe)O at extreme pressures and implications for planetary magma oceans (Nakajima et al.) Nakajima, Miki https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17859498	software	December 2025

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