Optical properties of fluid hydrogen at the transition to a conducting state

R. Stewart McWilliams, D. Allen Dalton, Mohammad F. Mahmood, Alexander F. Goncharov

Research output: Contribution to journalLetterpeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

We use fast transient transmission and emission spectroscopies in the pulse laser heated diamond anvil cell to probe the energy-dependent optical properties of hydrogen at pressures of 10–150 GPa and temperatures up to 6000 K. Hydrogen is absorptive at visible to near-infrared wavelengths above a threshold temperature that decreases from 3000 K at 18 GPa to 1700 K at 110 GPa. Transmission spectra at 2400 K and 141 GPa indicate that the absorptive hydrogen is semiconducting or semimetallic in character, definitively ruling out a first-order insulator-metal transition in the studied pressure range.
Original languageEnglish
Article number255501
Number of pages19
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume116
Issue number25
Early online date22 Jun 2016
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 24 Jun 2016

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