Ortho-Positronium in Alkanes under High Pressure

Phase transitions in n-alkanes were observed by using the positron annihilation lifetime method. In the case of alkanes, application of pressure is equivalent to temperature lowering (1 K corresponds to ≈4 MPa). When argon at high pressure penetrates the sample one observes a non-monotonous dependence of the melting point on pressure. This effect is observed also in even-numbered alkanes, in which there is no rotator phase