2-16 mu m spectroscopy of micron-sized enstatite (Mg,Fe)(2)Si2O6 silicates from primitive chondritic meteorites

We present mid-infrared spectra from individual enstatite silicate grains separated from primitive type 3 chondritic meteorites. The 2-16 mu m transmission spectra were taken with microspectroscopic Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) techniques as part of a project to produce a data base of infrared spectra from minerals of primitive meteorites for comparison with astronomical spectra. In general, the wavelength of enstatite bands increases with the proportion of Fe. However, the wavelengths of the strong En(100) bands at 10.67 and 11.67 decrease with increasing Fe content. The 11.67-mu m band exhibits the largest compositional wavelength shift (twice as large as any other). Our fits of the linear dependence of the pyroxene peaks indicate that crystalline silicate peaks in the 10-mu m spectra of Herbig AeBe stars, HD 179218 and 104237, are matched by pyroxenes of En(90-92) and En(78-80), respectively. If these simplistic comparisons with the astronomical grains are correct, then the enstatite pyroxenes seen in these environments are more Fe-rich than are the forsterite (Fo(100)) grains identified in the far-infrared which are found to be Mg end-member grains. This differs from the general composition of type 3 chondritic meteoritic grains in which the pyroxenes are more Mg-rich than are the olivines from the same meteorite

Infrared Spectra of Pyroxenes (Crystalline Chain Silicates) at Room Temperature

Pyroxene crystals are common in meteorites but few compositions have been recognized in astronomical environments. We present quantitative room-temperature spectra of 17 Mg-- Fe-- and Ca--bearing ortho- and clinopyroxenes, and a Ca-pyroxenoid in order to discern trends indicative of crystal structure and a wide range of composition. Data are produced using a Diamond Anvil Cell: our band strengths are up to 6 times higher than those measured in KBr or polyethylene dispersions, which include variations in path length (from grain size) and surface reflections that are not addressed in data processing. Pyroxenes have varied spectra: only two bands, at 10.22~$\mu$m and 15.34~$\mu$m in enstatite (En$_{99}$), are common to all. Peak-wavelengths generally increase as Mg is replaced by Ca or Fe. However, two bands in MgFe-pyroxenes shift to shorter wavelengths as the Fe component increases from 0 to 60 per cent. A high-intensity band shifts from 11.6~$\mu$m to 11.2~$\mu$m and remains at 11.2~$\mu$m as Fe increases to 100~per~cent; it resembles an astronomical feature normally identified with olivine or forsterite. The distinctive pyroxene bands between 13~ and 16~$\mu$m show promise for their identification in MIRI spectra obtained with JWST. The many pyroxene bands between 40 and 80~$\mu$m could be diagnositic of silicate mineralogy if data were obtained with the proposed SPICA telescope. Our data indicate that comparison between room-temperature laboratory bands for enstatite and cold $\sim 10-K$ astronomical dust features at wavelengths $\gtrsim 28~\mu$m can result in the identification of (Mg,Fe)- pyroxenes that contain 7--15 % less Fe-- than their true values because some temperature shifts mimic some compositional shifts. Therefore some astronomical silicates may contain more Fe, and less Mg, than previously thought.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures.accepted in MNRA

Carbonates and ices in the z = 0.89 galaxy-absorber towards PKS 1830?211 and within star-forming regions of the Milky Way

A pair of 6.0 and 6.9 μm absorption features are frequently observed in Milky Way (MW) molecular-clouds and YSOs; they also occur in the z = 0.886 rest-frame of a molecule-rich spiral galaxy obscuring blazar PKS 1830–211. I calibrate χ2-fitting methods, which match observations with two or three laboratory spectra. The 6.0-μm component is dominated by H2O ice, as expected. Included MW sources were selected using opacity criteria which limit the range of explored H2O-ice column densities to 1.6–2.4 × 1018 molecules cm−2, while the H2O-ice density in the galaxy absorber is (2.7 ± 0.5) × 1018 molecules cm−2. CH3OH ice and / or small (< 0.1-μm-sized) Ca- and Mg-bearing carbonates contribute at 6.9 μm. The 41 per cent CH3OH:H2O molecular ratio in the PKS 1830–211 absorber is significantly higher than in the molecular cloud towards Taurus-Elias 16 (<7.5 per cent) and similar to the highest value in MW YSOs (35 per cent in AFGL 989). Fitted carbonate (-CO3):H2O ratios in the galaxy absorber of 0.091 per cent are low in comparison to most of the ratios detected in the MW sample (0.2 per cent–0.4 per cent; ∼0 per cent in AFGL 989). Inorganic carbonates could explain the increased oxygen depletion at the diffuse-medium-to-molecular-cloud transition, which Jones and Ysard associated with unobserved organic carbonates or materials with a C:O ratio of 1:3

Dust changes in Sakurai’s Object: new PAHs and SiC with coagulation of submicron-sized silicate dust into 10 μm-sized melilite grains

6–14 μm Spitzer spectra obtained at 6 epochs between 2005 April and 2008 October are used to determine temporal changes in dust features associated with Sakurai’s Object (V4334 Sgr), a low mass post-AGB star that has been forming dust in an eruptive event since 1996. The obscured carbon-rich photosphere is surrounded by a 40-milliarcsec torus and 32 arcsec PN. An initially rapid mid-infrared flux decrease stalled after 2008 April 21. Optically thin emission due to nanometre-sized SiC grains reached a minimum in 2007 October, increased rapidly between 2008 April 21–30 and more slowly to 2008 October. 6.3-μm absorption due to PAHs increased throughout. 20 μm-sized SiC grains might have contributed to the 6–7 μm absorption after 2007 May. Mass estimates based on the optically thick emission agree with those in the absorption features if the large SiC grains formed before 1999 May and PAHs formed in 1999 April–June. Estimated masses of PAH and large-SiC grains in 2008 October, were 3 × 10−9 M⊙ and 10−8 M⊙, respectively. Some of the submicron-sized silicates responsible for a weak 10 μm absorption feature are probably located within the PN because the optical depth decreased between 2007 October and 2008 October. 6.9-μm absorption assigned to ∼10 μm-sized crystalline melilite silicates increased between 2005 April and 2008 October. Abundance and spectroscopic constraints are satisfied if ≲2.8 per cent of the submicron-sized silicates coagulated to form melilites. This figure is similar to the abundance of melilite-bearing calcium–aluminium-rich inclusions in chondritic meteorites

Temperature effects on the 15-85-micron spectra of olivines and pyroxenes

Far-infrared spectra of laboratory silicates are normally obtained at room temperature even though the grains responsible for astronomical silicate emission bands seen at wavelengths >20 micron are likely to be at temperatures below ~150 K. In order to investigate the effect of temperature on silicate spectra, we have obtained absorption spectra of powdered forsterite and olivine, along with two orthoenstatites and diopside clinopyroxene, at 3.5+-0.5 K and at room temperature (295+-2K). To determine the changes in the spectra the resolution must be increased from 1 to 0.25 cm^-1 at both temperatures since a reduction in temperature reduces the phonon density, thereby reducing the width of the infrared peaks. Several bands observed at 295 K split at 3.5 K. At 3.5 K the widths of isolated single bands in olivine, enstatites and diopside are ~ 90% of their 295 K-widths. However, in forsterite the 3.5-K-widths of the 31-, 49- and 69-micron bands are, respectively, 90%, 45% and 31% of their 295 K widths. Due to an increase in phonon energy as the lattice contracts, 3.5-K-singlet peaks occur at shorter wavelengths than do the corresponding 295-K peaks; the magnitude of the wavelength shift increases from \~ 0-0.2 micron at 25 micron to ~0.9 micron at 80 micron. Changes in the relative absorbances of spectral peaks are also observed. The temperature dependence of lambda_pk and bandwidth shows promise as a means to deduce characteristic temperatures of mineralogically distinct grain populations. In addition, the observed changes in band strength with temperature will affect estimates of grain masses and relative mineral abundances inferred using room-temperature laboratory data.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures including figures 3a and 3b. includes latex and eps files. Accepted by MNRAS on 15th March 200

Sakurai's Object revisited: new laboratory data for carbonates and melilites suggest the carrier of 6.9-?m excess absorption is a carbonate

We present new room-temperature 1100–1800-cm−1 spectra of melilite silicates and 600–2000-cm−1 spectra of three randomly orientated fine-grained carbonates to determine the possible carrier(s) of a 6.9-μm absorption feature observed in a variety of dense astronomical environments, including young stellar objects and molecular clouds. We focus on the low-mass post-asymptotic giant branch star Sakurai’s Object, which has been forming substantial quantities of carbonaceous dust since an eruptive event in the 1990s. Large melilite grains cannot be responsible for the 6.9-μm absorption feature because the similarly shaped feature in the laboratory spectrum was produced by very low (0.1 per cent by mass) carbonate contamination, which was not detected at other wavelengths. Due to the high band strength of the 6.9-μm feature in carbonates, we conclude that carbonates carry the astronomical 6.9-μm feature. Replacement of melilite with carbonates in models of Sakurai’s Object improves fits to the 6–7-μm Spitzer spectra without significantly altering other conclusions of Bowey’s previous models except that there is no link between the feature and the abundance of melilite in meteorites. With magnesite (MgCO3), the abundance of 25-μm-sized SiC grains is increased by 10–50 per cent and better constrained. The mass of carbonate dust is similar to the mass of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon dust. Existing experiments suggest that carbonates are stable below 700 K; however, it is difficult to ascertain the applicability of these experiments to astronomical environments, and more studies are required

Lexicality and frequency in specific language impairment: accuracy and error data from two nonword repetition tests

Purpose: Deficits in phonological working memory and deficits in phonological processing have both been considered potential explanatory factors in Specific Language Impairment (SLI). Manipulations of the lexicality and phonotactic frequency of nonwords enable contrasting predictions to be derived from these hypotheses. Method: 18 typically developing (TD) children and 18 children with SLI completed an assessment battery that included tests of language ability, non-verbal intelligence, and two nonword repetition tests that varied in lexicality and frequency. Results: Repetition accuracy showed that children with SLI were unimpaired for short and simple high lexicality nonwords, whereas clear impairments were shown for all low lexicality nonwords. For low lexicality nonwords, greater repetition accuracy was seen for nonwords constructed from high over low frequency phoneme sequences. Children with SLI made the same proportion of errors that substituted a nonsense syllable for a lexical item as TD children, and this was stable across nonword length. Conclusions: The data show support for a phonological processing deficit in children with SLI, where long-term lexical and sub-lexical phonological knowledge mediate the interpretation of nonwords. However, the data also suggest that while phonological processing may provide a key explanation of SLI, a full account is likely to be multi-faceted

Real-world word learning: exploring children's developing semantic representations of a science term

Assessments of lexical acquisition are often limited to pre-school children on forced choice comprehension measures. This study assessed the understandings 30 school-age children (mean age = 6;7) acquired about the science term, eclipse following a naturalistic exposure to a solar eclipse. The knowledge children acquired about eclipses and a control term, comet was assessed at three points in time (baseline-test, two-week post-test and five-month post-test) using a range of assessment tasks (multiple-choice comprehension, picture-naming, drawing and a model of a solar system task). Children's knowledge was compared to 15 adult controls during the baseline-test and two-week post-test. Children acquired extensive knowledge about eclipses, but not comets; at the two-week post-test and five-month post-test, the majority of children named and drew eclipses and „made? an eclipse using models of the sun, moon and earth. Also, children's eclipse knowledge more closely approximated adult-level understandings at the two-week post-test than at the baseline-test. Implications for the study of lexical acquisition in later development are discussed

Infrared spectra of pyroxenes (crystalline chain silicates) at room temperature

Crystals of pyroxene are common in meteorites but few compositions have been recognized in astronomical environments due to the limited chemistries included in laboratory studies. We present quantitative room-temperature spectra of 17 Mg-, Fe-, and Ca-bearing ortho- and clinopyroxenes, and a Ca-pyroxenoid in order to discern trends indicative of crystal structure and a wide range of composition. Data are produced using a diamond anvil cell: our band strengths are up to six times higher than those measured in KBr or polyethylene dispersions, which include variations in path length (from grain size) and surface reflections that are not addressed in data processing. Pyroxenes have varied spectra: only two bands, at 10.22 and 15.34 μm in enstatite (En99), are common to all. Peak wavelengths generally increase as Mg is replaced by Ca or Fe. However, two bands in MgFe-pyroxenes shift to shorter wavelengths as the Fe component increases from 0 to 60 per cent. A high-intensity band shifts from 11.6 to 11.2 μm and remains at 11.2 μm as Fe increases to 100 per cent; it resembles an astronomical feature normally identified with olivine or forsterite. The distinctive pyroxene bands between 13 and 16 μm show promise for their identification in Mid-Infrared-Instrumentspectra obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope. The many pyroxene bands between 40 and 80 μm could be diagnositic of silicate mineralogy if data were obtained with the proposed Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics. Our data indicate that comparison between room-temperature laboratory bands for enstatite and cold ∼10 − K astronomical dust features at wavelengths ≳28 μm can result in the identification of (Mg,Fe)- pyroxenes that contain 7–15 per cent less Fe– than their true values because some temperature shifts mimic some compositional shifts. Therefore some astronomical silicates may contain more Fe, and less Mg, than previously thought