Experimental study of Perovskite / post-Perovskite phase transformation mechanism and its kinetics in the earth mantle

The radial seismic structure of the earth is marked by a sharp transition about 200 km above the core-mantle boundary. This defines the top of the region called the D'' layer. Moreover, at these P/T conditions, Bridgmanite (Pv), the main lower mantle mineral, transforms into its high-pressure phase, (Mg,Fe)SiO3 post-perovskite (pPv). This phase transition has received considerable interest due to its thermodynamic properties, the induced textures and microstructures that seem to explain many of the seismic anomalies of the D” layer. However, its thermodynamic properties and transformation mechanisms are not very well known. The main purpose of this thesis was to investigate the Pv/pPv phase transition and its kinetics.To do so, we used a novel method, called Multigrain Crystallography, to characterize in-situ hundreds of crystals in a polycrystalline material. The reliability of the method for experiments under extreme conditions is tested in the first part ofthis manuscript.I then focus on the Pv/pPv phase transition mechanism on a structural analog of composition NaCoF3. I determine that the Pv to pPv transformation is martensitic and that the reverse transformation is reconstructive. Their impacts on the D” layer microstructure are also discussed.Finally, I explore the kinetics of the (Mg0,86,Fe0,14)SiO3Pv to pPv transition by time-series experiments. Moreover, based on our data, I present two possible kinetic models that include the effect of pressure, temperature, and grain size. These models have important implications to constrain the dynamics and kinetics of the Bridgmanite to pPv transition at the D” layer P/T condition