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Crystal structures of ytterbium to 293 GPa

C. V. Storm*, J. D. McHardy, C. M. Lonsdale, C. R. Roy, and M. I. McMahon†

  • SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, and Centre for Science at Extreme Conditions, The University of Edinburgh, Peter Guthrie Tait Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FD, United Kingdom

  • *Contact author: cstorm@ed.ac.uk
  • †Contact author: m.i.mcmahon@ed.ac.uk
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Phys. Rev. B 114, 024107 – Published 17 July, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/dv9c-y18p

Abstract

Ytterbium (Yb) metal is unusual among the lanthanide elements in being divalent at ambient conditions, rather than trivalent, which gives it a distinct high-pressure phase transition sequence from that of other lanthanides. Here we describe an x-ray diffraction study of Yb up to 293 GPa to investigate the structure and compressibility of the hP3 phase, which we find to be stable up to the highest pressure. We subsequently calculate a further phase transition to the orthorhombic oF8 phase above ∼330GPa, in line with transitions seen in Nd and Sm. Our results underpin future studies of Yb compounds under pressure, in particular the synthesis of YbHx polyhydrides, for which an accurate understanding of the structure and compressibility of elemental Yb is indispensable.

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Phys. Rev. B 114, 024107– Published 17 July, 2026
  • Received 27 April 2026
  • Accepted 16 June 2026
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