Joint Institute for High Temperatures of the Russian Academy of Sciences Discovers a New Phase Transition in Cesium Plasma: Abrupt Conductivity Jump and a Rare Double Critical Point
A research team from the Joint Institute for High Temperatures of the Russian Academy of Sciences (JIHT RAS / ОИВТ РАН) has achieved an important physics advance in the study of extreme high-temperature and high-pressure states: researchers have discovered a previously undescribed phase transition in cesium (Cesium) under dense plasma conditions, accompanied by a dramatic jump-like change in electrical conductivity. The study focuses on the microscopic physical behavior of matter at temperatures from 500 to 20,000 Kelvin (K) and pressures ranging from about 1 hectopascal (hPa) to several terapascals (TPa). Under such severe extreme conditions, interatomic distances are greatly compressed, matter undergoes multiple deep ionizations, and the traditional criteria for distinguishing solid, liquid, and gas states can no longer...
2026-10-08
