Metallic hydrogen.

Hydrogen is the simplest and most abundant element in the Universe. There are two pathways for creating metallic hydrogen under high pressures. Over 80 years ago Wigner and Huntington predicted that if solid molecular hydrogen was sufficiently compressed in the T  =  0 K limit, molecules would dissociate to form atomic metallic hydrogen (MH).

Conductivity and dissociation in liquid metallic hydrogen and implications for planetary interiors.

Liquid metallic hydrogen (LMH) is the most abundant form of condensed matter in our solar planetary structure. The electronic and thermal transport properties of this metallic fluid are of fundamental interest to understanding hydrogen's mechanism of conduction, atomic or pairing structure, as well as the key input for the magnetic dynamo action and thermal models of gas giants. Here, we report spectrally resolved measurements of the optical reflectance of LMH in the pressure region of 1.

Response to Comment on "Observation of the Wigner-Huntington transition to metallic hydrogen".

Liu present negative comments on our observation of the Wigner-Huntington transition to metallic hydrogen (MH). Earlier attempts to produce MH were unsuccessful due to diamond failure before the required pressures were achieved. We produced the highest static pressures (495 gigapascals) ever on hydrogen at low temperatures.

Observation of the Wigner-Huntington transition to metallic hydrogen.

Producing metallic hydrogen has been a great challenge in condensed matter physics. Metallic hydrogen may be a room-temperature superconductor and metastable when the pressure is released and could have an important impact on energy and rocketry. We have studied solid molecular hydrogen under pressure at low temperatures.

New Phases and Dissociation-Recombination of Hydrogen Deuteride to 3.4 Mbar.

We present infrared absorption studies of solid hydrogen deuteride to pressures as high as 340 GPa (100  GPa=1  Mbar) in a diamond anvil cell and temperatures in the range 5-295 K. Above 198 GPa the HD sample transforms to a mixture of HD, H_{2}, and D_{2}, interpreted as a process of dissociation and recombination. Three new phase lines are observed, two of which differ remarkably from those of the high-pressure homonuclear species, but none are metallic.

Evidence of a liquid-liquid phase transition in hot dense hydrogen.

We use pulsed-laser heating of hydrogen at static pressures in the megabar pressure region to search for the plasma phase transition to liquid atomic metallic hydrogen. We heat our samples substantially above the melting line and observe a plateau in a temperature vs. laser power curve that otherwise increases with power.

Novel methods to create multielectron bubbles in superfluid helium.

An equilibrium multielectron bubble (MEB) in liquid helium is a fascinating object with a spherical two-dimensional electron gas on its surface. We discuss two ways in which they have been created. For MEBs that have been observed in the dome of a cylindrical cell with an unexpectedly short lifetime, we show analytically why these MEBs can discharge by tunneling.

Thermionic emission and a novel electron collector in a liquid helium environment.

We study two techniques to create electrons in a liquid helium environment. One is thermionic emission of tungsten filaments in a low temperature cell in the vapor phase with a superfluid helium film covering all surfaces; the other is operating a glowing filament immersed in bulk liquid helium. We present both the steady state and rapid sweep I-V curves and the electron current yield.

Temperature dependence of the emissivity of platinum in the IR.

The accuracy of temperature determination by fitting the spectral irradiance to a Planck curve depends on knowledge of the emissivity at all temperatures and pressures of interest within a spectral region. Here, the emissivity of platinum is measured in the near infrared as a function of temperature. In the wavelength range of study and the temperature range of 650-1100 K, we find the emissivity to be independent of temperature to within experimental error.

Melting line of hydrogen at high pressures.

The insulator to metal transition in solid hydrogen was predicted over 70 years ago but the demonstration of this transition remains a scientific challenge. In this regard, a peak in the temperature versus pressure melting line of hydrogen may be a possible precursor for metallization. However, previous measurements of the fusion curve of hydrogen have been limited in pressure and temperature by diffusion of hydrogen into the gasket or diamonds.

Electron emission in superfluid and low temperature vapor phase helium.

Tungsten filaments used as sources of electrons in a low-temperature liquid or gaseous helium environment have remarkable properties of operating at thousands of degrees kelvin in surroundings at temperatures of order 1 K. We provide an explanation of this performance in terms of important changes in the thermal transport mechanisms. The behavior can be cast as a first-order phase transition.

Megabar-pressure infrared study of hydrogen deuteride.

Solid hydrogen deuteride (HD) has been studied to a pressure of 159 GPa and to low temperatures using near infrared spectroscopy. Of the two high pressure phases observed in hydrogen and deuterium, known as the BSP (broken-symmetry phase) and the A phase, only the BSP had been observed in the lower pressure region of the phase line of HD and it was unusually different from the homonuclear diatomic species with a reentrant behavior. In this Letter the BSP phase line is identified to its maximum pressure of 159 GPa.

Impurity proton NMR signals from common "proton-free" laboratory materials.

For the study of small samples (tens of microns cubed) by NMR, impurities from the environment and construction materials (Teflon, Kel-F, glass NMR tubes, etc.) can dominate the signal, in particular for proton NMR. Using pulsed NMR with a resolution of several microseconds, we have studied a number of common construction materials considered to be proton-free and find considerable proton impurity.

Effect of pressure on statics, dynamics, and stability of multielectron bubbles.

The effect of positive and negative pressure on the modes of oscillation of a multielectron bubble in liquid helium is calculated. Already at low pressures of the order of 10-100 mbar, these effects are found to significantly modify the frequencies of oscillation of the bubble. Stabilization of the bubble is shown to occur in the presence of a small negative pressure, which expands the bubble radius.