Novel high pressure magnetic measurements with application to magnetite

[1] We report a novel system designed to measure reversible magnetic susceptibility of micron-sized samples under high pressures in a diamond anvil cell. We find that magnetite reversible hysteresis parameters vary <15% below 0.6 to 1.0 GPa, while at higher pressures significant increases occur in (1) bulk coercivity (Hc) and (2) the ratio of saturation remanent magnetization (Mrs) to saturation magnetization (Ms). The net effect of pressure is to displace magnetite toward a truer single domain state with both higher Mrs/Ms and Hc. Our data, together with the fact that magnetite Curie temperature increases with pressure, suggest that magnetite can account for geomagnetic anomalies related to some subduction zones and potentially to meteorite impact sites on Earth, as well as magnetic signatures observed on some planetary bodies like Mars.