They're running right at the limits of what is possible. One easy way to see this: these effects only appear at highest pressures, and I believe that the diamo

They're running right at the limits of what is possible. One easy way to see this: these effects only appear at highest pressures, and I believe that the diamond anvil breaking strength isn't terribly consistent (one defect or error in sample-preparation? poof. Got a good one? You can go farther.). I wouldn't be surprised if each promising iteration of the experiment is performed by loading the anvil all the way to failure. They're working in the dark -- nobody knows for sure how much pressure is enough to yield the next step forward in knowledge. If the stars align, a single run of such an experiment is sufficient to yield a quantum leap (sorry) in condensed-matter physics. As an example, this particular iteration may prove career-defining for those involved. That said, if they're constrained on budget, I suspect they think really hard about the way to optimize discovery potential within their diamond-anvil supply constraints.