Structure and dynamics of levitated liquid aluminates

We used the aerodynamic levitation technique combined with CO2 laser heating to study the structures of liquid CaAl2O4 and MgAl2O4 above their melting point with X-ray and neutron diffraction. We determined the structure factors and corresponding pair correlation functions describing the short-range order in the liquids. The combination of the two scattering techniques makes it possible to derive information not accessible with a single measurement. We also obtained information on the dynamics of liquid MgAl2O4 with inelastic X-ray scattering. In particular, we determined the sound velocity and the longitudinal viscosity.