Path integral Monte Carlo and density functional molecular dynamics simulations of warm dense MgSiO3

• Published in: Physical review. B 2020-01, Vol.101 (2), p.1
• Main Authors: González-Cataldo, Felipe, Soubiran, François, Peterson, Henry, Militzer, Burkhard
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Compression ratio; Computer simulation; condensed matter & materials physics; CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; Density; Enstatite; Equations of state; Extreme values; fluid dynamics; Hugoniot curves; Integrals; Molecular dynamics; Nuclei (nuclear physics); plasma physics; statistical physics
• ISSN: 2469-9950; 2469-9969
• DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.101.024107

In order to provide a comprehensive theoretical description of MgSiO3 at extreme conditions, we combine results from path integral Monte Carlo and density functional molecular dynamics simulations and generate a consistent equation of state for this material. We consider a wide range of temperature and density conditions from 104 to 108K and from 0.321 to 64.2 gcm−3 (0.1- to 20-fold the ambient density). We study how the L and K shell electrons are ionized with increasing temperature and pressure. We derive the shock Hugoniot curve and compare with experimental results. Our Hugoniot curve is in good agreement with the experiments, and we predict a broad compression maximum that is dominated by the K shell ionization of all three nuclei while the peak compression ratio of 4.70 is obtained when the Si and Mg nuclei are ionized. Finally we analyze the heat capacity and structural properties of the liquid.