Temperature effects on the mid-and far-infrared spectra of olivine particles

¹ Kyoto Pharmaceutical University, Yamashina, Kyoto 607-8412, Japan e-mail: koike@mb.kyoto-phu.ac.jp
² Astrophysical Institute and University Observatory, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Schillergäßchen 2-3, 07743 Jena, Germany
³ Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Hilo, Hawaii, USA
⁴ Department of Earth & Planetary Science, University of Tokyo, Hongo, Tokyo 133-0033, Japan
⁵ Department of Earth and Space Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka 560-0043, Japan
⁶ Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Königstuhl 17, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
⁷ Gunma Astronomical Observatory, Agatsuma, Gunma 377-0702, Japan

Received: 18 April 2005
Accepted: 7 November 2005

Abstract

The absorption spectra of the olivine particles of different Mg/Fe content were measured in the infrared spectral region between 5 and 100 μm, while the particles were continuously cooled down to 10 K. Measurements independently carried out on different samples of synthetic forsterite, natural olivine, and synthetic fayalite at laboratories in Kyoto and Jena. The positions of the olivine infrared bands were measured for these samples in detail at up to seven individual temperatures in the interval between 300 K and 10 K. According to the different widths of the olivine bands in different wavelength regions, spectral resolutions of 2, 1, 0.5, 0.25, 0.2, and 0.125  were used in order to measure the band positions with high accuracy. While in general the band positions and their temperature-dependent shift agree very well for the Kyoto and Jena samples, the positions of some very strong bands differ, which is probably a consequence of different particle shapes. For the two long-wavelength forsterite bands at 49 and 69 μm, the sharpening and strengthening of the bands were quantified. The widths of these bands differ for the Kyoto and Jena samples, which is discussed in terms of different crystal quality and particle coagulation of the samples. Our new data can be used to derive dust temperatures from the observed peak positions for crystalline silicate dust in circumstellar regions.