1. Evidence for supercritical behaviour of high-pressure liquid hydrogen
- Author
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Cheng, Bingqing, Mazzola, Guglielmo, Pickard, Chris J., and Ceriotti, Michele
- Subjects
Liquid hydrogen -- Analysis ,Machine learning -- Usage ,Environmental issues ,Science and technology ,Zoology and wildlife conservation - Abstract
Hydrogen, the simplest and most abundant element in the Universe, develops a remarkably complex behaviour upon compression.sup.1. Since Wigner predicted the dissociation and metallization of solid hydrogen at megabar pressures almost a century ago.sup.2, several efforts have been made to explain the many unusual properties of dense hydrogen, including a rich and poorly understood solid polymorphism.sup.1,3-5, an anomalous melting line.sup.6 and the possible transition to a superconducting state.sup.7. Experiments at such extreme conditions are challenging and often lead to hard-to-interpret and controversial observations, whereas theoretical investigations are constrained by the huge computational cost of sufficiently accurate quantum mechanical calculations. Here we present a theoretical study of the phase diagram of dense hydrogen that uses machine learning to 'learn' potential-energy surfaces and interatomic forces from reference calculations and then predict them at low computational cost, overcoming length- and timescale limitations. We reproduce both the re-entrant melting behaviour and the polymorphism of the solid phase. Simulations using our machine-learning-based potentials provide evidence for a continuous molecular-to-atomic transition in the liquid, with no first-order transition observed above the melting line. This suggests a smooth transition between insulating and metallic layers in giant gas planets, and reconciles existing discrepancies between experiments as a manifestation of supercritical behaviour. Simulations using machine-learning-based interatomic potentials in dense hydrogen overcome system size and timescale limitations, providing evidence of a supercritical behaviour of high-pressure liquid hydrogen and reconciling theoretical and experimental discrepancies., Author(s): Bingqing Cheng [sup.1] [sup.2] [sup.3] , Guglielmo Mazzola [sup.4] , Chris J. Pickard [sup.5] [sup.6] , Michele Ceriotti [sup.7] [sup.8] Author Affiliations: (1) Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, [...]
- Published
- 2020
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