2018 Fall Meeting

10-15 December

In the early age of quantum mechanics, dense solid molecular Hydrogen was predicted to transform into an atomic metallic solid provided one would squeeze it hard enough to reach a critical density above which the electrons would prefer to delocalize. This provocative thought has fueled the development of ingenious technologies to reach ever increasing extreme pressures, punctuated by periodic spectacular announcements.

Now, modern condensed matter theory and supercomputers technology enable in-silico experiments to peer into the microscopic scale. However, hydrogen apparent simplicity as the lightest element deceptively cause incredible technical difficulties and result in a flurry of contradicting predictions, for example regarding the pressure and temperature required to trigger the insulator to metal transition in the fluid phase, near the maximum of the melting line around 1 million atmospheres (~1 Mbar =100 GPa).

 

In this Tutorial Talk, we will review both experimental and numerical recent studies to understand the metallization of solid and fluid hydrogen and highlight the fundamental constraints that these studies provide to getting a better understanding of the formation, evolution and internal structure of giant planets such as Jupiter and Saturn in the context of the Cassini and Juno missions. Prepared by LLNL under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

• MR - Mineral and Rock Physics
• P - Planetary Sciences