INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL of CRYSTALLOGRAPHY — 56th Course: Crystallography under extreme conditions the future is bright and very compressed

Subjecting matter to extreme conditions reveals a multitude of fascinating phenomena, and is applicable to a wide range of disciplines. From the extremophiles that exist in the deepest depths of our oceans to the exotic new materials that are made when atoms are pushed ever closer together, understanding the structure of materials at extreme conditions affects Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geoscience and Material Science. In order to achieve its goals, high pressure research has been always at the vanguard of technical progress. It is a discipline in which equipment plays a particularly important role. State-of-the-art diamond anvil cells can now achieve megabar ranges of pressure, millions of times atmospheric pressure, with this beaten by an order of magnitude in dynamic compression experiments. In this manner, scientists are able to mimic the conditions in the interiors of giant planets. Nature is even more ambitious, as in the stars petapascal pressures (the order of tens to hundreds billion atmospheres) are reached. In the laboratory, we can even create conditions of pressure, temperature and magnetic fields that are not found naturally, allowing us to complement nature to explore more exotic phases of matter. Therefore, the course will cover broad ground in the application of extreme conditions crystallography. The topics will span from fundamentals of high-pressure single crystal and powder diffraction, to presenting the many flavors of static and dynamic compression, to reviews of sources for extreme conditions work (synchrotrons, neutrons and free electron lasers). Complementary experimental (Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-ray magnetic circular dichroism, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, inelastic scattering) and computational methods will also be discussed. Diffraction analysis on the structure of liquids, glasses and nanocrystalline materials as well as multigrain crystallography will also be introduced. The lectures will be harmonized with the related sessions of interactive tutorials, providing hands-on experience to the attendees. These workshops will be focused on basic laboratory skills and the elements of data processing software related to the high pressure