Materialforschung  

Cover illustration: A small solid sample, located in the central aperture of a metal gasket and squeezed from two sides by diamond anvils, is irradiated with relativistic heavy ions from the SIS heavy ion synchrotron. The simultaneous exposure to high pressure and to the very rapid deposition of energy transferred from the decelerating ions triggers drastic structural alterations which are not caused by applying high pressure or ion beam irradiation alone. The mineral zircon, for example, transforms to a high-pressure phase at pressure values much lower than those required without simultaneous ion beam irradiation. The new phase is revealed by additional lines (indicated by the red circle) observed in the Raman spectrum of zircon. The background displays a head-on view of the metal housing of a diamond anvil cell in the moment when an ion pulse traverses the cell. The front diamond responds with a bright flash of light emission visible in the center.