Thermal conductivity of dense hcp iron: Direct measurements using laser
heated diamond anvil cell
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Abstract
Thermal conductivity (k) of iron is measured up to about 134 GPa. The measurements are carried out using the
single sided laser heated diamond anvil cell, where the power absorbed by a Fe metal foil at hotspot is calculated
using a novel thermodynamical method. Thermal conductivity of fcc (γ) Fe increases up to a pressure of about
46 GPa. We find thermal conductivity values in the range of 70–80 Wm1K1 (with an uncertainty of 40%),
almost constant with pressure, in the hcp (ε) phase of Fe. We attribute the pressure independent k above 46 GPa to
the strong electronic correlation effects driven by the electronic topological transition (ETT). We predict a value of
thermal conductivity of ε -Fe of about 40 16 Wm1K1 at the outer core of Earth.
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