Laser-driven shock compression and equation of state of Fe_2O_3 up to 700 GPa

We report here the first equation of state measurements of Fe_2O_3 obtained with laser-driven shock compression. The data are in excellent agreement with previous dynamic and static compression measurements at low pressure, and extend the known Hugoniot up to 700 GPa. We observe a large volume drop of ∼10 static compression observations, with the iron spin transition. Our measurements also suggest a change of the Hugoniot curve between 150 and 250 GPa. Above 250 GPa and within our error bars, we do not observe significant modifications up to the maximum pressure of 700 GPa reached in our experiment.