Electrical resistance of high-pressure phases of tin under shock compression

The normalized electrical resistance $R/R_0$ of tin for different pressures of shock compression $p$ is measured. The resultant dependence $R/R_0(p)$ differs significantly from the known dependences for static and quasi-isentropic compression and demonstrates the growth of the electrical resistance with increasing pressure. The dependence has an inflection testifying to a phase transition. The inflection corresponds to pressures of $4.7$–$5.3$ GPa in the dielectric embracing a thin sample and to pressures of $8.4$–$9.6$ GPa in the first shock wave. The latter parameters qualitatively agree with the characteristics of the phase transition $\beta$-$\mathrm{Sn}\to\gamma$-$\mathrm{Sn}$. The first shock wave in tin determines the final electrical resistance of the sample after wave reverberation. The experimental data obtained in this study are indicative of the kinetic behavior of the electrical resistance in the transition $\beta$-$\mathrm{Sn}\to\gamma$-$\mathrm{Sn}$, which is accompanied by generation of crystalline structure defects with a characteristic time greater than $1$ $\mu$s. A drastic increase in the electrical resistance of the sample in the expansion wave is observed. This increase is attributed to tin melting.