Evidence for a Phase Transition in Silicate Melt at Extreme Pressure and Temperature Conditions

Laser-driven shock compression experiments reveal the presence of a phase transition in MgSiO3 over the pressure-temperature range 300–400 GPa and 10 000–16 000 K, with a positive Clapeyron slope and a volume change of ∼6.3 (±2.0) percent. The observations are most readily interpreted as an abrupt liquid-liquid transition in a silicate composition representative of terrestrial planetary mantles, implying potentially significant consequences for the thermal-chemical evolution of extrasolar planetary interiors. In addition, the present results extend the Hugoniot equation of state of MgSiO3 single crystal and glass to 950 GPa.