More than a third of all exoplanets can be classified as super-Earths based on radius (1-2 R-circle plus)) and mass (
The relative stability of different crystal structures for pure Fe under applied pressure is calculated from quantum mechanics, using the highly accurate APW+lo method. In the pressure range of 0–100 TPa, we corroborate the prediction that iron adopts subsequently the bcc, hcp, fcc, hcp and bcc structures. In contrast to previous studies, we identify a family of stacking fault structures that are competing with the ground state structure at all pressures. Implications for the properties of the inner core of the Earth and heavy terrestrial exoplanets are discussed.
