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Since Bridgman’s discovery of five solid water (H2O) ice phases1in 1912, studies on the extraordinary polymorphism of H2O have documented more than seventeen crystalline and several amorphous ice structures2,3, as well as rich metastability and kinetic effects4,5. This unique behaviour is due in part to the geometrical frustration of the weak intermolecular hydrogen bonds and the sizeable quantum motion of the light hydrogen ions (protons). Particularly intriguing is the prediction that H2O becomes superionic6–12—with liquid-like protons diffusing through the solid lattice of oxygen—when subjected to extreme pressures exceeding 100 gigapascals and high temperatures above 2,000 kelvin. Numerical simulations suggest that the characteristic diffusion of the protons through the empty sites of the oxygen solid lattice (1) gives rise to a surprisingly high ionic conductivity above 100 Siemens per centimetre, that is, almost as high as typical metallic (electronic) conductivity, (2) greatly increases the ice melting temperature7–13to several thousand kelvin, and (3) favours new ice structures with a close-packed oxygen lattice13–15. Because confining such hot and dense H2O in the laboratory is extremely challenging, experimental data are scarce. Recent optical measurements along the Hugoniot curve (locus of shock states) of water ice VII showed evidence of superionic conduction and thermodynamic signatures for melting16, but did not confirm the microscopic structure of superionic ice. Here we use laser-driven shockwaves to simultaneously compress and heat liquid water samples to 100–400 gigapascals and 2,000–3,000 kelvin. In situ X-ray diffraction measurements show that under these conditions, water solidifies within a few nanoseconds into nanometre-sized ice grains that exhibit unambiguous evidence for the crystalline oxygen lattice of superionic water ice. The X-ray diffraction data also allow us to document the compressibility of ice at these extreme conditions and a temperature- and pressure-induced phase transformation from a body-centred-cubic ice phase (probably ice X) to a novel face-centred-cubic, superionic ice phase, which we name ice XVIII2,17.

In stark contrast to common ice, Ih, water ice at planetary interior conditions has been predicted to become superionic with fast-diffusing (that is, liquid-like) hydrogen ions moving within a solid lattice of oxygen. Likely to constitute a large fraction of icy giant planets, this extraordinary phase has not been observed in the laboratory. Here, we report laser-driven shock-compression experiments on water ice VII. Using time-resolved optical pyrometry and laser velocimetry measurements as well as supporting density functional theory–molecular dynamics (DFT-MD) simulations, we document the shock equation of state of H2O to unprecedented extreme conditions and unravel thermodynamic signatures showing that ice melts near 5,000 K at 190 GPa. Optical reflectivity and absorption measurements also demonstrate the low electronic conductivity of ice, which, combined with previous measurements of the total electrical conductivity under reverberating shock compression, provides experimental evidence for superionic conduction in water ice at planetary interior conditions, verifying a 30-year-old prediction. Although predicted to occur in planetary interiors, superionic water ice has proved elusive to identify experimentally. Laser-driven shock-compression experiments on water ice VII now verify its existence.

Understanding giant impacts requires accurate description of how extreme pressures and temperatures affect the physical properties of the constituent materials. Here, we report shock experiments on two polymorphs of MgSiO 3: enstatite and bridgmanite (perovskite) crystals. We obtain pressure‐density shock equation of state to 14 Mbar and more than 9 g/cm 3, a 40% increase in density from previous data on MgSiO 3. Density‐functional‐theory molecular dynamics (DFT‐MD) simulations provide predictions for the shock Hugoniot curves for bridgmanite and enstatite and suggest that the Grüneisen parameter decreases with increasing density. The good agreement between the simulations and the experimental data, including for the shock temperature along the enstatite Hugoniot reveals that DFT‐MD simulations reproduce well the behavior of dense fluid MgSiO3. We also reveal a high optical reflectance indicative of a metal‐like electrical conductivity which supports the hypothesis that magma oceans may contribute to planetary magnetic field generation. Deciphering the evolution of the early Earth requires a detailed understanding of the history of our planet formation and evolution. Much like for other planets in the solar system and beyond, giant impacts are thought to have played a key role in the Earth history including the formation of the moon and the intense climatic perturbations leading to the Cretaceous‐Paleogene extinction event. Computer simulations of giant impact are now becoming increasingly accurate thanks to ever‐growing supercomputing capabilities worldwide. Here we report new shock wave experiments on two different kinds of the Earth mantle's most abundant mineral MgSiO 3, together with simulations based on quantum theory of condensed matter. We find that under intense shockwave compression of several million atmospheres, shock‐induced heating and compression together transform the rocky minerals into dense, shiny fluid able to conduct electrical current and therefore perhaps contribute to magnetic field generation by dynamo effect in the early stages of the evolution of rocky planets and exoplanets. Bridgmanite was shock compressed to the conditions of giant impacts that dominated the final phase of the solar system formationDFT molecular dynamics simulations reproduce well the experimental data under such extreme P‐T conditions relevant for giant impact modelsDense fluid MgSiO3exhibits a metal‐like electrical conductivity which indicates that magma oceans may generate planetary magnetic field