High-pressure decomposition reaction of albite under differential stresses

Introduction Phase transformations of minerals have an important role on the rheology of earth’s crust and mantle. Flow properties and the dominant mechanism of deformation are possibly affected through changes of the crystal structure, grain size and polycrystalline texture during the transformation. In this study, we have carried out in-situ X-ray diffraction experiments on the high-pressure decomposition reaction from albite (ab), one end member of plagioclase, into jadeite (jd) and quartz (qz) under uniaxial differential stress. Plagioclase is one of the principal materials that construct the oceanic and continental crust and it is important that consider effects of the decomposition reaction on the crustal rheology.