Internship and thesis proposals
Exploring Double Superionicity in Warm Dense Planetary Materials

Domaines
Condensed matter
Statistical physics
Physics of liquids
Relativity/Astrophysics/Cosmology
Nouveaux états électroniques de la matière corrélée

Type of internship
Théorique, numérique
Description
The interiors of ice giants and many exoplanets contain materials such as water, ammonia, and methane compressed to millions of atmospheres and thousands of kelvin. Under these warm dense matter (WDM) conditions—where matter lies between the condensed and plasma regimes—ionic and electronic transport phenomena play a crucial role in determining planetary structure, evolution, and magnetic field generation. Recent ab initio simulations have predicted the existence of doubly superionic states, where two types of ions become mobile within a partially ordered lattice. This remarkable behavior, observed in complex HCNO compounds, challenges our current understanding of ion transport and phase transitions in dense plasmas. This internship aims to test and characterize double superionicity through first-principles molecular dynamics simulations of selected compounds under planetary interior conditions. The project will explore the onset of ion mobility, diffusion mechanisms, and the interplay between structure and charge transport in the WDM regime. The student will gain hands-on experience in first-principles modeling of warm dense plasmas and contribute to testing a novel concept in planetary materials science. The results will help clarify the physical origin of double superionicity, an emerging topic at the interface between high-energy-density plasma physics and planetary modeling, and may form the basis for a future publication or PhD project.

Contact
Mandy Bethkenhagen
01 69 33 53 00


Email
Laboratory : LULI -
Team : PHYDEL
Team Website
/ Thesis :    Funding :