Wood, Marisa Costanza; (2021) The physical properties of iron and iron alloys at conditions relevant to the cores of the Moon and small terrestrial planetary bodies. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

The Moon has undergone differentiation and possesses a small core, the composition of which is not well constrained but is expected to contain iron as its primary constituent. At lunar core conditions of ~5–6GPa and ~1,300–1,900 K the face-centred cubic (fcc) phase is the stable phase of iron; however, there exist few studies of its elastic properties at these conditions. In this thesis the magnetism of fcc-Fe is investigated using spin polarised ab initio static calculations. The elastic tensor of fcc-Fe has been calculated using spin polarised ab initio molecular dynamics simulations; the calculated sound velocities have been found to be in good agreement with those from experimental literature. Furthermore, the effect of light elements on the melting relations of iron has been investigated for the ternary system Fe0.8S0.1Si0.1 via laser-heated diamond anvil cell experiments. This system is of particular relevance to the core of Mercury (~5–40GPa and ~1,600–3,000 K) which may contain significant quantities of sulphur and/or silicon. Liquidus melting curves, in conjunction with constraints on Mercury’s adiabat, provide insight into the expected core crystallisation regime.

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