Spin transition in Magnesiowüstite in Earth’s lower mantle
"Spin transition in Magnesiowüstite in Earth’s lower mantle",
T. Tsuchiya, R.M. Wentzcovitch, S. de Gironcoli, Physical Review Letters, 96, 198501 (2006)
(DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.198501)

• Abstract
• Complete article

• Eos: "Electronic Spin Transition of Iron in the Earth’s Deep Mantle", January 9, 2007
  

  Electronic spin is a quantum property of every electron, associated with its intrinsic angular momentum. The electronic structure of iron in minerals is generally such that valence electrons will more abundantly occupy different spatial orbitals and maintain the same spin than occupy the same spatial orbital and assume opposite spin, called ‘spin-paired.’ To the astonishment of mineral physicists, pressure-induced electronic spin-pairing that were predicted in iron nearly 50 years ago recently have been detected in ultrahigh-pressure experiments, MORE...

Dissociation of MgSiO₃ in the Cores of Gas Giants and Terrestrial Exoplanets
"Dissociation of MgSiO₃ in the Cores of Gas Giants and Terrestrial Exoplanets",
K. Umemoto, R. M. Wentzcovitch, and P. B. Allen, Science, 311, 983 (2006)

• Abstract
• Complete article

• UMN press release: "U of M researcher simulates characteristics of planetary cores", February 17, 2006
  

  University of Minnesota researchers Renata Wentzcovitch and Koichiro Umemoto and Philip B. Allen of Stony Brook University have modeled the properties of rocks at the temperatures and pressures likely to exist at the cores of Jupiter, Saturn and two exoplanets far from the solar system. They show that rocks in these environments are different from those on Earth and have metallic-like electric and thermal conductivity. MORE...

• USA Today: "New planets so close and yet so far", February 21, 2006
  

  Astronomers have detected more than 150 planets orbiting nearby stars. But there may be trouble finding a planet in the "habitable zone," in which temperatures are neither too cold nor too hot for life. "But it may not be so simple," says University of Minnesota physicist Renata Wentzcovitch and colleagues in the current Science magazine. MORE...

MgSiO₃ postperovskite at D″ conditions
"MgSiO₃ postperovskite at D″ conditions",
R.M. Wentzcovitch, T. Tsuchiya, and J. Tsuchiya, PNAS, 3, 543 (2006)

• Abstract
• Complete article

• UMN press release: "U of M researchers unlock mystery of layer encircling the Earth's core", January 30, 2006
  

  The research "tells us how to better model Earth's internal processes," said Wentzcovitch. "Proper geodynamical modeling of the Earth is necessary to get a better grasp of the dynamics of the surface. You can't fully understand Earth's surface motion without understanding how it moves inside. What's unbelievable is how well we can model Earth on a big scale." MORE...

Thompson Essential Science Indicators Names Our Article "New Hot Paper"

Our paper "Phase Transition in MgSiO3-perovskite in the Earth's Lower Mantle", has been highly cited because we reported an important theoretical discovery related to MgSiO₃ perovskite, the major Earth-forming mineral. Our findings combined with the earlier experimental findings by M. Murakami and K. Hirose at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, is the most important discovery in the field of mineral physics since 1974. Our results have extensive and interdisciplinary impact in the field of geophysics. MORE...

Virtual Laboratory for Earth and Planetary Materials

Experiments at planetary interior conditions are extremely challenging or virtually impossible. Theory may provide today and for a long time to come, the only way to obtain key information on materials properties at relevant conditions. The Virtual Laboratory for Earth and Planetary Materials , VLab funded by NSF is a consortium that promotes developments in theoretical and computation Earth and planetary material sciences.

Minnesota Daily: "University researchers head creation of virtual laboratory", November 24, 2004
The University is leading an international group of universities in developing a virtual laboratory for Earth and planetary studies with a grant from the National Science Foundation. The laboratory will help researchers study planetary materials, such as rocks, ice, iron, and gases, under conditions difficult to reproduce without a computer, principal investigator and University chemical engineering and materials science professor Renata Wentzcovitch said. MORE...

Insights on the nature of the earth's lower mantle
"Thermoelasticity of MgSiO3 perovskite: insights on the nature of the earth's lower mantle",
R. M. Wentzcovitch, B. B. Karki, M. Cococcioni, and S. de Gironcoli, Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 018501 (2004).

• Abstract
• Complete article
  
• Phys. Rev. Focus: "What is down there?", January 9, 2004
  

  Like bats using echolocation to navigate through the night, geophysicists rely on seismic waves for information on the Earth's deep interior. Almost everything known about that inaccessible region is inferred from the speed of sound waves generated by earthquakes. In the 9 January PRL, however, a team describes a calculation of the properties of the Earth's lower mantle starting from basic physics principles. The results disagree slightly with seismic data and suggest that the structure of minerals in the Earth's lower mantle is more complex than geophysicists have assumed. MORE..

Revised: January 29, 2007
Email the webmaster with questions or comments.