When high pressures are applied, crystals of lithium and sodium undergo a sequence of phase transitions, including a striking pressure-induced drop in the melting temperature. The cause of the unusual melting behaviour has now been identified: it emerges because liquid sodium undergoes a series of transitions similar to those seen in the solid state, but at much lower pressures. One of these transitions is driven by the opening of a 'pseudogap' in the electronic density of states.
- Jean-Yves Raty
- Eric Schwegler
- Stanimir A. Bonev
