Observation of a first-order metal-to-nonmetal phase transition in fluid iron

Abstract

Direct measurements of resistivity and caloric equation of state have been performed for fluid iron at pressures of 2 to 12 GPa in a wide density range. We found that the isochoric temperature coefficient of resistivity becomes negative, and this is considered as an indication of the metal-to-nonmetal transition, when density decreased by a factor of 3 to 4 compared to the normal solid density. We detected also that isentropes plotted in the pressure - specific volume plane have well-defined kinks localized on a convex curve with a maximum at about 5 GPa. Such behavior of isentropes evidences about a first order phase transition with a critical pressure one order of magnitude higher than the predicted pressure of the liquid-vapor critical point. Arguments are presented that the observed phase transition is most likely the liquid-vapor transition rather than an extra first order transition in the fluid state. We show that the gaseous nonmetallic phase represents dense plasma in the 1-2-th state of ionization so that it is a plasma phase transition as well.