Condensed Matter Physics

Pressure induces profound changes in materials, adding a new dimension to applications in energy-related, planetary, electronic, magnetic, optical, superhard, and nano- materials, and contributing to our fundamental understanding of condensed-matter physics and chemistry. Recent concurrent breakthroughs in high pressure technology and national and international user facilities have dramatically increased our ability to probe samples over a wide pressure-temperature spectrum using a variety of in situ techniques. New phenomena observed under compression can also provide guidance for practical applications. For example, the discovery of novel molecular compounds at high pressure in simple hydrogen-containing systems (e.g. H2-H2O and H2-CH4) opens a new frontier in hydrogen storage for mobile applications and may also give insight into understanding the most abundant molecular species in the Universe. The high pressure chemistry—even for many of the most basic systems—has been largely unexplored, and studies into their behavior under high pressure has led to exciting and often unexpected discoveries.