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SUMMARY:High pressure physics - a gift to theory
DTSTART:20170529T131500
DTEND:20170529T141500
DTSTAMP:20260414T211953Z
UID:b0ad3b3cf933ee77467d0b5241c2161455e503f8b35b70c1bc90cdc7
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Chris Pickard\, Cambridge University UK\nOf all the ther
 modynamic variables\, our theoretical methods have the greatest control ov
 er pressure. The foundation of modern density functional based total energ
 y methods rests on early studies on the behaviour of crystals under pressu
 re. High pressure experiments are\, however\, far from straightforward. Th
 ese experiments typically involve only small quantities of the sample of i
 nterest.  Analysis is difficult\, and frequently incomplete. I will discu
 ss how modern structure prediction methods (and Ab Initio Random Structure
  Searching[1\,2] in particular) have revolutionised the study of dense mat
 ter. The ability to make reasonable predictions of crystal structures has 
 enabled puzzling experiments to be interpreted\, and also provided suggest
 ions for what might be just out of reach. Examples include "mixed" phases 
 in dense hydrogen [3] (now identified as Phase IV[4])\, the decomposition 
 of water at the pressures encountered in gas giant planets\,[5] and four n
 ew thermodynamically stable phases of carbon on the way to stellar pressur
 es.[6]\n\n[1] Chris J. Pickard\, and R. J. Needs. "High-pressure phases of
  silane." Physical Review Letters 97\, no. 4 (2006): 045504.\n[2] Chris J.
  Pickard\, and R. J. Needs. "Ab initio random structure searching." Journa
 l of Physics: Condensed Matter 23\, no. 5 (2011): 053201.\n[3] Chris J. Pi
 ckard\, and Richard J. Needs. "Structure of phase III of solid hydrogen." 
 Nature Physics 3\, no. 7 (2007): 473-476.\n[4] Chris J. Pickard\, Miguel M
 artinez-Canales\, and Richard J. Needs. "Density functional theory study o
 f phase IV of solid hydrogen." Physical Review B 85\, no. 21 (2012): 21411
 4.\n[5] Chris J. Pickard\, Miguel Martinez-Canales\, and Richard J. Needs.
  "Decomposition and terapascal phases of water ice." Physical Review Lette
 rs 110\, no. 24 (2013): 245701.\n[6] Miguel\, Martinez-Canales Chris J. Pi
 ckard\, and Richard J. Needs. "Thermodynamically stable phases of carbon a
 t multiterapascal pressures." Physical Review Letters 108\, no. 4 (2012): 
 045704.\nBio: Chris Pickard is the inaugural Sir Alan Cottrell Professor o
 f Materials Science in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy\
 , University of Cambridge. Previously he was Professor of Physics\, Univer
 sity College London (2009-2015)\, and Reader in Physics\, University of St
  Andrews (2006-2008). He has held both EPSRC Advanced and Leadership Resea
 rch Fellowships\, and is currently a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit 
 Award holder (2015). He is a lead developer of the widely used CASTEP code
 \, and introduced both the GIPAW approach to the prediction of magnetic re
 sonance parameters and Ab Initio Random Structure Searching. In 2015 he wo
 n the Rayleigh Medal and Prize of the Institute of Physics.\n\nhttp://www.
 msm.cam.ac.uk/department/profiles/portrait/Pickard.jpg
LOCATION:MXF 1 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==MXF%201
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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