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Title: Electrical conductivity of SiO2 at extreme conditions and planetary dynamos

Journal Article · · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
 [1];  [1];  [2]
  1. Univ. College London, Bloomsbury (United Kingdom)
  2. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
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Ab intio molecular dynamics simulations show that the electrical conductivity of liquid SiO2 is semimetallic at the conditions of the deep molten mantle of early Earth and super-Earths, raising the possibility of silicate dynamos in these bodies. Whereas the electrical conductivity increases uniformly with increasing temperature, it depends nonmonotonically on compression. At very high pressure, the electrical conductivity decreases on compression, opposite to the behavior of many materials. We show that this behavior is caused by a novel compression mechanism: the development of broken charge ordering, and its influence on the electronic band gap.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC04-94AL85000; NA0003525
OSTI ID:
1497658
Report Number(s):
SAND--2017-4291J; {"Journal ID: ISSN 0027-8424",672238}
Journal Information:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal Issue: 34 Vol. 114; ISSN 0027-8424
Publisher:
National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC (United States)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (5)

A silicate dynamo in the early Earth journal February 2020
Electrical conductivity and magnetic dynamos in magma oceans of Super-Earths journal September 2018
Oxygen Quadclusters in SiO 2 Glass above Megabar Pressures up to 160 GPa Revealed by X-Ray Raman Scattering journal December 2019
X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy study of warm dense MgO journal November 2019
Venus: A Thick Basal Magma Ocean May Exist Today journal February 2020

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Related Subjects

58
high pressure
Earth’s mantle
density functional theory
silicate liquids
electrical conductivity