
Dr Benedict Heinen
MSci, PhD
Expertise
I use laboratory experiments to recreate the conditions found deep inside the Earth, and investigate the properties of materials (minerals, melts and glasses) at these extremes of pressure and temperature.
Current positions
Senior Research Associate
School of Earth Sciences
Contact
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Research interests
I study the behaviour of materials under conditions of high pressure and temperature. My research interests lie in experimental petrology, mineral physics and high-pressure science.
I use diamond anvil cells combined with laser- or electrical-heating methods to create extreme conditions of high pressure and temperature in the lab. I use a variety of techniques to analyse samples, including synchrotron X-ray techniques (mainly powder diffraction and total scattering analysis) and optical spectroscopies. I am interested in investigating a wide range of topics, such as the phase diagrams and thermoelastic properties of deep mantle phases, the melting properties of transition metals, the structure and density of glasses and melts, and the source of seismic heterogeneities in the Earth's lower mantle.
I am also interested in technique and method development for high-P-T experiments, including micro-fabrication methods, more accurate temperature measurements, and novel heating techniques for the DAC. I am working on the continual development of internal resistive heating, where an electrical micro-heater sits inside the pressure chamber of a diamond anvil cell.
I also develop open-source software to complement my research. This includes LiquidDiffract, a user-friendly tool for X-ray total scattering analysis. I make my software available via my GitHub.
Publications
Recent publications
03/05/2022LiquidDiffract
Physics and Chemistry of Minerals
Internal resistive heating of non-metallic samples to 3000 K and >60 GPa in the diamond anvil cell
Review of Scientific Instruments
Structural ordering in liquid gallium under extreme conditions
Physical Review Letters
The HXD95
Journal of Synchrotron Radiation
The fate of carbonate in oceanic crust subducted into earth's lower mantle
Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Thesis
Internal resistive heating techniques in the diamond anvil cell
Supervisors
Award date
27/09/2022