Mid-IR spectral properties of different surfaces of silicate mixtures before and after excimer laser irradiation

Abstract

The behaviour of the Christiansen feature (CF) and the Reststrahlen bands (RBs) in mid-infrared (IR) reflectance spectra on various silicate mixtures as pressed pellets and powders was investigated in high-vacuum. In addition, the influence of micrometeorite bombardment simulated with an excimer laser was studied. The mixtures cover a wide range of possible hermean surface compositions and include the minerals olivine, pyroxene (enstatite and diopside), and plagioclase. For the laser experiments, silicates were pressed into pellets and examined by reflectance infrared spectroscopy to identify changes caused by micrometeorite impacts as one tracer of space weathering on airless bodies such as Mercury. For comparison, measurements were also performed on loose powders with the same compositions under the same conditions. As a result, it can be shown that the RBs of olivine are rather affected by laser irradiation although SEM investigations show the destruction mainly of plagioclase, indicating that the RBs of plagioclase are masked by the “stronger” RBs of olivine and pyroxene. Furthermore, we found that the CF in mixtures with a plagioclase content of >50% does not shift significantly towards the CF of pyroxene or olivine. On the other hand, the CF of a mixture containing 50% olivine shifts significantly to shorter wavelengths when pyroxene or plagioclase are present in the mixture. Therefore, care is required when interpreting remote sensing data using the CF alone. We also found that the CF shifts to longer wavelengths in rough (regolithic) samples. Our work demonstrates large dependencies of the CF and the RBs positions on the composition of the silicates as well as on the nature of the surface, which is important for space missions, e.g., data acquired by the MErcury Radiometer and Thermal Infrared Spectrometer (MERTIS) experiment onboard BepiColombo.