A critical assessment of interatomic potentials for modelling lattice defects in forsterite Mg SiO from 0 to 12 GPa.

Unlabelled: Five different interatomic potentials designed for modelling forsterite Mg SiO are compared to and experimental data. The set of tested properties include lattice constants, material density, elastic wave velocity, elastic stiffness tensor, free surface energies, generalized stacking faults, neutral Frenkel and Schottky defects, in the pressure range  GPa relevant to the Earth's upper mantle. We conclude that all interatomic potentials are reliable and applicable to the study of point defects.