Universal diamond edge Raman scale to 0.5 terapascal: The implication to metallization of hydrogen

Abstract

The recent progress in generating static pressures up to terapascal values opens opportunities for studying novel materials with unusual properties, such as metallization of hydrogen and high-temperature superconductivity. However, an evaluation of pressure above ~0.3 terapascal is a challenge. We report a universal high-pressure scale up to ~0.5 terapascal, based on the shift of the Raman edge of stressed diamond anvils correlated with the equation of state of Au and does not require an additional pressure sensor. According to the new scale, the pressure values are substantially lower by 20% at ~0.5 terapascal compared to the extrapolation of the existing scales. We compared the available data of H2 at the highest static pressures. We showed that the onset of the proposed metallization of molecular hydrogen reported by different groups is consistent when corrected with the new scale and can be compared with various theoretical predictions.