Anomalous elasticity of talc at high pressures: Implications for subduction systems

Talc is a layered hydrous silicate mineral that plays a vital role in transporting water into Earth’s interior and is crucial for explaining geophysical observations in subduction zone settings. In this study, we explored the structure, equation of state, and elasticity of both triclinic and monoclinic talc under high pressures up to 18 GPa using first principles simulations based on density functional theory corrected for dispersive forces. Our results indicate that principal components of the full elastic constant tensor C₁₁ and C₂₂, shear components C₆₆, and several off-diagonal components show anomalous pressure dependence. This non-monotonic pressure dependence of elastic constant components is likely related to the structural changes and is often manifested in a polytypic transition from a low-pressure polytype talc-I to a high-pressure polytype talc-II. The polytypic transition of talc occurs at pressures within its thermodynamic stability. However, the bulk and shear elastic moduli show no anomalous softening. Our study also shows that talc has low velocity, extremely high anisotropy, and anomalously high V_P/V_S ratio, thus making it a potential candidate mineral phase that could readily explain unusually high V_P/V_S ratio and large shear wave splitting delays as observed from seismological studies in many subduction systems.