Researchers have shown through high-energy laser experiments that magnesium oxide is likely the first mineral to solidify in super-Earth formation, crucially impacting these planets’ geophysical evolution.
High-energy laser experiments—which subjected tiny crystals of the mineral to the type of heat and pressure found deep inside a rocky planet’s mantle—suggest the compound could be the earliest mineral to solidify out of magma oceans in forming “super-Earth” exoplanets. View of laser-driven experiments of shock-compressed magnesium oxide within the chamber at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics. High-power laser beams are used to compress MgO samples to pressures beyond those found in the center of Earth. A secondary source of X-rays is used to probe MgO’s crystal structure. Brighter regions are glowing plasma emission over nanosecond timescales.
“Magnesium oxide melts at a much higher temperature than any other material or mineral. Diamonds may be the hardest materials, but this is what will melt last,” Wicks said. “When it comes to extreme materials in young planets, magnesium oxide is likely going to be solid, whereas everything else that will be hanging out down there in the mantle is going to be turned to liquid.”
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