Effect of pressure on the thermal expansion of MgO up to 200 GPa

Constant temperature and pressure molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are performed to investigate the thermal expansivity of MgO at high pressure, by using effective pair-wise potentials which consist of Coulomb, dispersion, and repulsion interactions that include polarization effects through the shell model (SM). In order to take into account non-central forces in crystals, the breathing shell model (BSM) is also introduced into the MD simulation. We present a comparison between the volume thermal expansion coefficient α dependences of pressure P at 300 and 2000 K that are obtained from the SM and BSM potentials and those derived from other experimental and theoretical methods in the case of MgO. Compared with the results obtained by using the SM potentials, the MD results obtained by using BSM potentials are more compressible. In an extended pressure and temperature range, the α value is also predicted. The properties of MgO in a pressure range of 0–200 GPa at temperatures up to 3500 K are summarized.