Evidence of liquid-liquid phase transition in compressed Ar probed by the thermal expansion of Mo, Ta and W at high pressures

TL;DR

This paper provides evidence for a liquid-liquid phase transition in compressed argon, using thermal expansion measurements of Mo, Ta, and W at high pressures to resolve longstanding discrepancies in melting curves.

Contribution

It introduces a novel explanation for the conflicting melting curves of transition metals by linking them to the behavior of the pressure transmitting medium during compression.

Findings

Evidence of liquid-liquid phase transition in compressed argon

Resolution of discrepancies in melting curves of transition metals

Thermal expansion measurements reveal phase behavior at high pressures

Abstract

The long standing controversy between the melting curves of the bcc Mo,Ta,W and vanadium (V) metals measured by diamond anvil Cells (DAC) and the shock dynamic experiments is explained by the behavior the liquid or solid pressure transmitting mediums compressed by the thermal expansion of the these transition metals. This explains the observed isobaric behavior of the laser heated DAC experiments containing different transmitting mediums reported in the literature, thus solving the standing enigma described in very many publications.