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    Phase stability and stoichiometric diversity in the Mg-Si system under high pressure

    Peng Chen1, Nan Huang1, Zepeng Wu1, Yinghui Zhou1,*, Yang Sun1, Tie-Yu Lü1, Xinrui Cao1,2, and Shunqing Wu1,†

    • 1Department of Physics, OSED, Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Condensed Matter Physics (Department of Education of Fujian Province), Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
    • 2Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China

    • *Contact author: yhzhou@xmu.edu.cn
    • †Contact author: wsq@xmu.edu.cn

    Phys. Rev. B 113, 184101 – Published 4 May, 2026

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/l74t-x4kc

    Abstract

    While the Mg-Si system features only one thermodynamically stable compound, Mg2Si, at ambient pressure, multiple new phases emerge under compression up to ∼100 GPa. Intriguingly, above 500 GPa, Mg2Si reemerges as the sole stable compound. In this work, we combine adaptive genetic algorithm crystal-structure prediction with machine learning interatomic potentials to systematically explore high-pressure stability of Mg-Si system at 200, 300, and 400 GPa. By constructing a pressure–composition phase diagram spanning 100 to 500 GPa, we identify several pressure-stabilized phases, Cmmm Mg4Si3 and R3¯m Mg3Si, which exhibit unexpected stoichiometries and structural motifs. Through analysis of electronic structure, we demonstrate that the localization of electrons and their bonding character play a crucial role in the phase stability and structural evolution under high pressure. These findings suggest that Mg-Si compounds with diverse compositions could form in oxygen-deficient planetary interiors, and provide an extended structural database for exploring multicomponent systems containing Mg and Si under extreme conditions.

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