Fei Y, Bertka CM, Finger LW
Geophysical Laboratory and Center for High Pressure Research, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5251 Broad Branch Road, NW, Washington, DC 20015, USA.
Science. 1997 Mar 14;275(5306):1621-3. doi: 10.1126/science.275.5306.1621.
An iron-sulfur compound (Fe3S2) was synthesized at pressures greater than 14 gigapascals in the system Fe-FeS. The formation of Fe3S2 changed the melting relations from a simple binary eutectic system to a binary system with an intermediate compound that melted incongruently. The eutectic temperature in the system at 14 gigapascals was about 400°C lower than that extrapolated from Usselman's data, implying that previous thermal models of Fe-rich planetary cores could overestimate core temperature. If it is found in a meteorite, the Fe3S2 phase could also be used to infer the minimum size of a parent body.
