22 research outputs found
Lithium fluoride films and crystals containing metallic colloids studied by scanning near-field optical microscopy
Lead incorparation mechanism in LiF crystals
The kinetics of doping of LiF with Pb has been described by using ab initio structural modeling
methods. By calculating the formation energy of several complexes involving Pb ions (Pb
•
Li and
Pb
••
I ) and V
′
Li, it is shown that the presence of charge-balancing vacancies ease the metal incorporation
in the crystal. Then, the metal captures the vacancies to form a nal stable complex
Pb
•
Li + V
′
Li−n). These predictions are conrmed by local structure data around Pb ions derived
from X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy
Simulation of low-velocity bombardment of asteroid surfaces: regolith formation and reddening of the spectra
Aims.The association of the most abundant population of meteorites, the ordinary chondrites,
and the S-type asteroids through the comparison of their reflected spectra in the visible
and near infrared spectrum, is still widely debated. Many asteroids show reddened spectra.
To date, this reddening has been attributed to the presence of metallic nanoparticles, produced by
the vaporization of Fe-bearing silicates or by a shock-induced phase transformation of metallic Fe-Ni alloys. Both the mechanisms are suggested to be related to impacts on asteroid surfaces. We show
how sculpting by low-energy impacts can play an important role in the reddening of asteroid surfaces.
Methods.We used quartz micro-spheres impacting on ordinary chondrites to simulate the sculpting of airless bodies due to the low-energy bombardment of micro-meteoroids.
Results.The bombarded surfaces show that metals in ordinary chondrites maintain their dimensions while silicates are comminuted. Moreover, the spectra of the simulated surface are redder than traditional powdered meteorites