Synchrotron radiation and high pressure: new light on materials under extreme conditions

With the steady development of static high-pressure techniques in recent years, it is now possible to probe in increasing detail the novel behavior of materials subjected to extreme conditions of multimegabar pressures (>300 GPa) and temperatures from cryogenic states to thousands of degrees. By and large, the growth in this area has been made possible by accelerating developments in diamond-anvil cell methods coupled with new synchrotron radiation techniques. Significant advances have occurred in high-pressure powder and single-crystal diffraction, spectroscopy, inelastic scattering, radiography, and infrared spectroscopy. A brief overview of selected highlights in each of these classes of experiments is presented that illustrate both the state-of-the-art as well as current technical and scientific challenges. The experiments have been made possible by the development of a spectrum of new techniques at both third- and second-generation high-energy sources together with key advances in high-pressure technology. The results have implications for a variety of problems in physics, chemistry, materials science, geoscience, planetary science, and biology.