Illustration to accompany Nature Communications paper, “Seismological expression of the iron spin crossover in ferropericlase in the Earth’s lower mantle.” Credit: Nicoletta Barolini/Columbia Engineering.

Multidisciplinary team of materials physicists and geophysicists combine theoretical predictions, simulations, and seismic tomography to find spin transition in the Earth’s mantle.

In 2003, scientists observed in a lab a novel type of phase change in minerals — a spin change in iron in ferropericlase, the second most abundant component of the Earth’s lower mantle.

A spin change, or spin crossover, can happen in minerals like ferropericlase under an external stimulus, such as pressure or temperature.

Over the next few years, experimental and theoretical groups confirmed this phase change in both ferropericlase and bridgmanite, the most abundant phase of the lower mantle.

In 2006, Columbia Engineering Professor Renata Wentzcovitch published her first paper on ferropericlase, providing a theory for the spin crossover in this mineral.

Since then, Wentzcovitch, who is a professor in the applied physics and applied mathematics department, earth and environmental sciences, and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University, has published 13 papers with her group on this topic, investigating velocities in every possible situation of the spin crossover in ferropericlase and bridgmanite, and predicting properties of these minerals throughout this crossover.

Working with a multidisciplinary team from Columbia Engineering, the University of Oslo, the Tokyo Institute of Technology, and Intel Co., Wenzcovitch’s latest paper details how they have now identified the ferropericlase spin crossover signal, a quantum phase transition deep within the Earth’s lower mantle.

This was achieved by looking at specific regions in the Earth’s mantle where ferropericlase is expected to be abundant.

“Moreover, geodynamic simulations have shown that the spin crossover invigorates convection in the Earth’s mantle and tectonic plate motion.

There are still many regions of the mantle researchers do not understand and spin state change is critical to understanding velocities, phase stabilities, etc.

“We’ll be able to improve our analyses of 3D tomographic images of the Earth and learn more about how the crushing pressures of the Earth’s interior are indirectly affecting our lives above, on the Earth’s surface.”.

Reference: “Seismological expression of the iron spin crossover in ferropericlase in the Earth’s lower mantle” by Grace E.

Spin crossover, quantum phenomenon, Hahahahaha stop it I can’t breathe

2021 surface of africa on circumference of the earth 6000 kilometres from earth core

no record showing for a depth of 800 kilometres = 5200 kilometres from earth core

subducting record on somalia 2000 kilometre depth = 4000 kilometres from earth core

subducting record gabon and somalia 2500 kilometre depth = 3500 kilometres from earth core

well a 4000 kilometre long plate subducted to a depth of 3000 kilometres according to the laws of physics wont survive as that size

so its compressed from 4000 kilometres to 2000 kilometres

depth 1000 kilometres prof renata on ferropericlase bridgmanite theory on spin crossover if you stretch or compress just a few nanometre thick layers of a magnetic material you can change the layers magnetic properties