Lattice dynamics of MgO at high pressure: Theory and experiment

The longitudinal acoustic and optical phonon branches along the Gamma-X direction of MgO at 35 GPa have been determined by inelastic x-ray scattering using synchrotron radiation and a diamond-anvil cell. The experimentally observed phonon branches are in remarkable agreement with ab initio lattice dynamics results. The derived thermodynamic properties, such as the specific heat C(V) and the entropy S are in very good accord with values obtained from a thermodynamically assessed data set involving measured data on molar volume, heat capacity at constant pressure, bulk modulus and thermal expansion.