A core-level crossing (CLC) resulting from extreme compression has been calculated to occur in Ir metal at 80 GPa, analogous to a transition previously reported in Os at 392 GPa. We present results from static high-pressure diffraction experiments and theoretical investigations on the compressive behavior of Ir up to 159 GPa, well above the calculated CLC transition pressure. Neither our experimental nor computational results find evidence for a CLC over this pressure range, and instead, our first-principles calculations suggest that the CLC occurs in Ir at the much higher pressure of 400 GPa. Furthermore, computational analysis of the CLC in Ir, combined with previous work on Os, indicates that CLCs at high pressure are not experimentally detectable.

• Received 26 September 2023
• Accepted 27 November 2023

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.109.024101

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Published by the American Physical Society