INELASTIC X-RAY SCATTERING AT ULTRAHIGH PRESSURES

Inelastic x-ray scattering (IXS) provides high-pressure research with an arsenal of analytical capabilities for key measurements that were previously unattainable, and high pressure research provides IXS with numerous applications where the technique has unique advantages over other methods. High-pressure investigations can now be conducted using non-resonant IXS, resonant IXS, nuclear resonant IXS, and x-ray emission spectroscopy with energy resolutions of 100 meV to 1 eV for electronic transitions and 1 to 10 meV for phonon studies. By pressure-tuning materials over a wide range, we are able to investigate fundamental physics of electron gases, strongly correlated electron systems, high-energy electronic excitations, and phonons in energy and momentum space. The results will have a profound influence on materials applications as well as providing basic information for understanding the deep interior of the Earth and other planets