Overview
- Peer-reviewed experiments observed coexisting atomic packings in superionic water, including BCC with FCC as well as FCC with HCP stacking under the same conditions.
- The team created extreme states with laser-driven shocks and captured trillionth-of-a-second X-ray diffraction, resolving subtle lattice signatures at pressures above 1.5 million atmospheres and thousands of degrees Celsius.
- Results from SLAC's LCLS (MEC) were independently reproduced at the European XFEL (HED-HIBEF), strengthening confidence in the mixed close-packed interpretation.
- Because freely moving hydrogen ions conduct electricity through a rigid oxygen lattice, the structural diversity informs explanations for the unusual magnetic fields of Uranus and Neptune.
- The work, published in Nature Communications on December 7, 2025, will be integrated into simulations, with planned measurements targeting electrical conductivity and compositional effects.