Formation of diamonds in laser-compressed hydrocarbons at planetary interior conditions

@article{Kraus2017FormationOD,
  title={Formation of diamonds in laser-compressed hydrocarbons at planetary interior conditions},
  author={Dominik Kraus and Jan Vorberger and A. Pak and N. J. Hartley and L. B. Fletcher and Simon Frydrych and Eric Galtier and Eliseo J. Gamboa and D. O. Gericke and Siegfried H. Glenzer and E. Granados and Michael MacDonald and A J Mackinnon and Emma E McBride and Inhyuk Nam and Paul Neumayer and M. Roth and A. M. Saunders and Anja K. Schuster and Phobos Sun and Tim B. Van Driel and Tilo D{\"o}ppner and Roger W. Falcone},
  journal={Nature Astronomy},
  year={2017},
  volume={1},
  pages={606-611}
}
The effects of hydrocarbon reactions and diamond precipitation on the internal structure and evolution of icy giant planets such as Neptune and Uranus have been discussed for more than three decades1. Inside these celestial bodies, simple hydrocarbons such as methane, which are highly abundant in the atmospheres2, are believed to undergo structural transitions3,4 that release hydrogen from deeper layers and may lead to compact stratified cores5–7. Indeed, from the surface towards the core, the… 
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TLDR
An unusual phase which exhibits coexistence of diffusive helium and plastic methane is discovered and the range of the diffusive behavior within the helium-methane phase diagram is found to be much narrower compared to that of previously predicted helium-water compounds.
Experimental methods for warm dense matter research
  • K. Falk
  • Physics
    High Power Laser Science and Engineering
  • 2018
The study of structure, thermodynamic state, equation of state (EOS) and transport properties of warm dense matter (WDM) has become one of the key aspects of laboratory astrophysics. This field has…
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