Insulator-metal transition in dense fluid deuterium

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 361; no. 6403; pp. 677 - 682
• Main Authors: Celliers, Peter M, Millot, Marius, Brygoo, Stephanie, McWilliams, R Stewart, Fratanduono, Dayne E, Rygg, J Ryan, Goncharov, Alexander F, Loubeyre, Paul, Eggert, Jon H, Peterson, J Luc, Meezan, Nathan B, Le Pape, Sebastien, Collins, Gilbert W, Jeanloz, Raymond, Hemley, Russell J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States The American Association for the Advancement of Science 17.08.2018; AAAS
• Subjects: Astrochemistry; ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS; Atmospheric models; Atmospheric pressure; Benchmarks; Construction planning; Deuterium; Explosions; Extrasolar planets; Grade Point Average; Hydrogen; Hydrogen isotopes; Isotopes; Jupiter; Jupiter atmosphere; Lasers; MATERIALS SCIENCE; Metallic hydrogen; Metals; Nuclear explosions; Optical measurement; Planetary atmospheres; Planetary structure; Refractivity; Saturn; Saturn atmosphere
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.aat0970

Dense fluid metallic hydrogen occupies the interiors of Jupiter, Saturn, and many extrasolar planets, where pressures reach millions of atmospheres. Planetary structure models must describe accurately the transition from the outer molecular envelopes to the interior metallic regions. We report optical measurements of dynamically compressed fluid deuterium to 600 gigapascals (GPa) that reveal an increasing refractive index, the onset of absorption of visible light near 150 GPa, and a transition to metal-like reflectivity (exceeding 30%) near 200 GPa, all at temperatures below 2000 kelvin. Our measurements and analysis address existing discrepancies between static and dynamic experiments for the insulator-metal transition in dense fluid hydrogen isotopes. They also provide new benchmarks for the theoretical calculations used to construct planetary models.