Optical data of meteoritic nano-diamonds from far-ultraviolet to far-infrared wavelengths ^*

¹ Astrophysikalisches Institut und Universitäts-Sternwarte (AIU), Schillergäßchen 3, 07745 Jena, Germany e-mail: [mutschke;conny]@astro.uni-jena.de
² NORDITA, Blegdamsvej 17, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark e-mail: anja@nordita.dk
³ Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany e-mail: henning@mpia.de

Received: 21 October 2003
Accepted: 10 May 2004

Abstract

We have used different spectroscopic techniques to obtain a consistent quantitative absorption spectrum of a sample of meteoritic nano-diamonds in the wavelength range from the vacuum ultraviolet (0.12 μm) to the far infrared (100 μm). The nano-diamonds have been isolated by a chemical treatment from the Allende meteorite (Braatz et al. 2000, Meteorit. Planet. Sci., 35, 75). Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) extends the optical measurements to higher energies and allows the derivation of the optical constants (n & k) by Kramers-Kronig analysis. The results can be used to restrain observations and to improve current models of the environment where the nano-diamonds are expected to have formed. We also show that the amount of nano-diamond which can be present in space is higher than previously estimated by Lewis et al. (1989, Nature, 339, 117).