Pressure and temperature dependence of the elastic properties of synthetic MnO

The adiabatic elastic stiffness constants of synthetic single-crystal MnO were measured in this study using pulse superposition interferometry. Data were obtained up to 1.0 GPa in pressure and over the temperature range 273 to 473 K. As a result, we were able to determine the complete set of second-order stiffness moduli (C _ij ^s ) and their pressure and temperature derivatives, as well as higher-order properties for selected modes. Relevant results for the adiabatic bulk modulus are: K ^s=155.1±0.8 GPa; (K^s/P)_T=4.70±0.13; and, (K ^s/T)_P= -0.0203±0.0009 GPa/K. Our results for the second-order moduli are generally consistent with the data from previous studies. However, relative to the estimated uncertainties, small and systematic discrepancies appear to characterize the data set. The available evidence indicates that the differences result from microstructural variations (in particular, microcracks and Mn₃O₄ inclusions) between the synthetic MnO specimens used in different investigations. The pure shear mode C ₄₄ exhibits anomalous soft-mode behavior with both temperature (the ambient derivative is positive) and pressure (the ambient derivative is negative). In both cases the C ₄₄ data trends appear to primarily reflect the influence of Mn-Mn magnetoelastic interactions associated with the onset of a paramagnetic-antiferromagnetic (PM AFM) phase transition.