High Pressure Research on Static and Dynamic Compression

The interiors of Earth and extraterrestrial planets are composed of extreme environments, with ultrahigh pressures reaching hundreds of gigapascals (GPa) and high temperatures rising to several thousand kelvin (K). These extreme conditions significantly influence structural, electronic, and thermodynamic properties of the planets and composed materials. Therefore, understanding the behavior of materials under high-pressure conditions is expected to be valuable not only for quantum materials research but also in diverse fields such as geoscience, astrophysics, and materials science. In particular, phenomena such as phase transitions, melting curves, and changes in electronic structure are critical for explaining the evolution of planetary cores and for designing new materials. Employing the diamond anvil cell technique is considered especially useful—not only for exploring quantum materials properties under pressure as a variable, but also as the most valid and persuasive experimental approach for replicating the high-pressure, high-temperature conditions of Earth’s interior in a laboratory setting. In this article, recent research on dynamic compression which enables ultrafast measurement of material property changes under ultrahigh pressure and temperature is introduced. Also, notable recent findings on superconductivity in metal hydrides under static pressure are discussed.