The limit of metastability of water under tension: theories and experiments

Two scenarios are proposed for explaining the thermodynamic anomalies of supercooled water, but they cannot be directly tested in this region because of the onset of homogeneous crystallization. They also give two distinct temperature dependences of the limit of metastability of water stretched beyond its boiling curve: either monotonic, as in simple liquids, or exhibiting a minimum. Therefore cavitation experiments could allow one to distinguish between the competing pictures. We review previous experiments and describe our preliminary results.