Quantum critical phase of FeO spans conditions of Earth’s lower mantle

Wai-Ga D. Ho, Peng Zhang (), Kristjan Haule, Jennifer M. Jackson, Vladimir Dobrosavljević and Vasilije V. Dobrosavljevic ()
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Wai-Ga D. Ho: Florida State University
Peng Zhang: Shaanxi Province Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials and Mesoscopic Physics, School of Physics, Xi’an Jiaotong University
Kristjan Haule: Rutgers University
Jennifer M. Jackson: California Institute of Technology
Vladimir Dobrosavljević: Florida State University
Vasilije V. Dobrosavljevic: California Institute of Technology

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Seismic and mineralogical studies have suggested regions at Earth’s core-mantle boundary may be highly enriched in FeO, reported to exhibit metallic behavior at extreme pressure-temperature (P–T) conditions. However, underlying electronic processes in FeO remain poorly understood. Here we explore the electronic structure of B1-FeO at extreme conditions with large-scale theoretical modeling using state-of-the-art embedded dynamical mean field theory (eDMFT). Fine sampling of the phase diagram reveals that, instead of sharp metallization, compression of FeO at high temperatures induces a gradual orbitally selective insulator-metal transition. Specifically, at P–T conditions of the lower mantle, FeO exists in an intermediate quantum critical state, characteristic of strongly correlated electronic matter. Transport in this regime, distinct from insulating or metallic behavior, is marked by incoherent diffusion of electrons in the conducting t2g orbital and a band gap in the eg orbital, resulting in moderate electrical conductivity (~105 S/m) with modest P–T dependence as observed in experiments. Enrichment of solid FeO can thus provide a unifying explanation for independent observations of low seismic velocities and elevated electrical conductivities in heterogeneities at Earth’s mantle base.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47489-w

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