Development of Sintered Diamond Techniques in Kawai-Type Apparatus and its Applications to Mineralogy of the Lower Mantle

Abstract

  High-pressure experimental techniques using sintered diamond anvils in Kawai-type multianvil apparatuses have been developed for the last 20 years toward Mbar region to reproduce deep lower mantle conditions. In this article, some tips in the recent technical developments and results of the application studies, phase equilibria and equations of state among the major lower mantle minerals, (Mg,Fe)SiO₃ perovskite and (Mg,Fe)O magnesiowustite, are reviewed along with a P-V-T equation of state of MgO determined by the scale-free unified analysis. These fundamental properties should contribute to modeling of the composition, dynamics, and evolution of the lower mantle.