X-ray spectroscopy of stellar coronae

Summary From the early discovery in 1948 of X-rays from the Solar corona, X-ray spectroscopy has proven to be an invaluable tool in studying hot astrophysical and laboratory plasmas. Because the emission line spectra and continua from optically thin plasmas are fairly well known, high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy has its most obvious application in the measurement of optically thin sources such as the coronae of stars. In particular X-ray observations with theEINSTEIN observatory have demonstrated that soft X-ray emitting coronae are a common feature among stars on the cool side of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, with the probable exception of single very cool giant and supergiant stars and A-type dwarfs. Observations with the spectrometers aboardEINSTEIN andEXOSAT have shown that data of even modest spectral resolution (/ = 10–100) permit the identification of coronal material at different temperatures whose existence may relate to a range of possible magnetic loop structures in the hot outer atmospheres of these stars. The higher spectral resolution of the next generation of spectrometers aboard NASA'sAXAF and ESA'sXMM will allow to fully resolve the coronal temperature structure and to enable velocity diagnostics and the determination of coronal densities, from which the loop geometry (i.e. surface filling factors and loop lengths) can be derived. In this paper various diagnostic techniques are reviewed and the spectral results fromEINSTEIN andEXOSAT are discussed. A number of spectral simulations forAXAF andXMM, especially high-resolution iron K-shell, L-shell, and2s-2p spectra in the wavelength regions around 1.9 Å, 10 Å, and 100 Å, respectively, are shown to demonstrate the capabilities for temperature, density, and velocity diagnostics. Finally, iron K-shell spectra are simulated for various types of detectors such as microcalorimeter, Nb-junction, and CCD.     

Premelting and calcium mobility in gehlenite (Ca2Al2SiO7) and pseudowollastonite (CaSiO3)

 Premelting effects in gehlenite (Ca₂Al₂SiO₇) have been studied by Raman spectroscopy and calorimetry, and in gehlenite and pseudowollastonite (CaSiO₃) by electrical conductivity. The enthalpy of premelting of gehlenite is 17.3 kJ mol⁻¹ and represents 9% of the reported enthalpy of fusion, which is in the range of the reported fraction of other minerals. The Raman and electrical conductivity experiments at high temperatures, for gehlenite and pseudowollastonite, show that the premelting effects of both compositions are associated with enhanced dynamics of calcium atoms near the melting point. This conclusion agrees with the results obtained for other minerals like diopside, but contrasts with those found for sodium metasilicate in which the weaker bonding of sodium allows the silicate framework to distort near the melting temperature and deform in such a way to prefigure the silicate entities present in the melt. Received: 30 April 2002 / Accepted: 7 August 2002 Acknowledgements We thank Y. Linard for help with DSC measurements and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments. This work has been partly supported by the EU Marie-Curie fellowship contract no. HPMF-CT-1999-00329, the CNRS-Carnegie Institution of Washington program PICS no.192, and the NSF grants EAR-9614432 and EAR-9901886 to B.O.M.     

Column Amounts of ClONO2, HCl, HNO3, and HF from Ground-Based FTIR Measurements Made Near Kiruna, Sweden, in Late Winter 1994

During SESAME phase I ground-based FTIR measurements were performed atEsrange near Kiruna, Sweden, from 28 January to 26 March 1994. Zenith columnamounts of ClONO₂, HCl, HF, HNO₃,O₃, N₂O, CH₄, and CFC-12 werederived from solar absorption spectra. Time series of ClONO₂and HCl indicate a chlorine activation at the end of January and around 1March. On 1 March a very low amount of HCl of 2.09times; 10¹⁵molec. cm^-2 was detected, probably caused by a second chlorineactivation phase starting from an already decreased amount of HCl. The ratioof column amounts of HCl to ClONO₂ decreased inside the vortexfrom about 1 in January to 0.4 in late March compared to values of about 2outside the vortex. Although the Arctic stratosphere was rather warm in winter1993/94 and PSCs occurred seldom, chlorine partitioning into its reservoirspecies HCl and ClONO₂ changed during that winter andClONO₂ is the major chlorine reservoir at the end of thewinter as in cold winters like 1991/92 and 1994/95.     

Surface chemical analysis in coal preparation research: complementary information from XPS and ToF-SIMS

The application of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to coal surface characterisation for preparation research is described. Progress towards the acquisition of complementary surface chemical information by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) is also discussed. Surface-based beneficiation techniques such as flotation are assuming greater importance as the proportion of fines in raw coal increases due to the proliferation of high capacity mining methods. A necessary condition for the floatability of a coal particle is adequate hydrophobicity, and the degree of hydrophobicity of the flotation concentrate is one factor influencing the ease with which its dewatering can be affected. The hydrophobicity of a coal is very difficult to measure directly because of microporosity, and it is often necessary to deduce the degree of hydrophobicity from a knowledge of the surface chemistry. XPS is able to provide sufficient analytical data to allow relative levels of hydrophobicity to be estimated. In principle, ToF-SIMS should be able to supply additional information enabling refinement of such estimates; however, there are insufficient data at present to allow the ionic fragments detected to be related to specific functional groups at the coal surface.     

High-T phase transition of synthetic ANaB(LiMg)CMg5Si8O22(OH)2 amphibole: an X-ray synchrotron powder diffraction and FTIR spectroscopic study

The synthetic amphibole Na_0.95(Li_0.95Mg_1.05)Mg₅Si₈O₂₂(OH)₂ was studied in situ at high-T, using IR OH-stretching spectroscopy and synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction. At room-T the sample has P2₁ /m symmetry, as shown by the FTIR spectrum. It shows in the OH region two well-defined and intense absorptions at 3,748 and 3,712 cm⁻¹, respectively, and two minor bands at 3,667 and 3,687 cm⁻¹. The main bands are assigned to the two independent O–H groups in the primitive structure. The two minor bands evidencing the presence of small amount of vacant A-site (^A□_0.05). With increasing T, these bands shift continuously and merge into a unique absorption at high temperature. A change as a function of increasing T is revealed by the evolution of the refined unit-cell parameters, whose trend shows a transition to C2/m at about 320–330°C. The spontaneous scalar strain, fitted with a tricritical 2–6 Landau potential, gives a T _c of 325(10)°C (β parameter = 0.27). Comparison with the second-order P2₁ /m ⇔ C2/m phase transition at 255°C for synthetic amphibole ^ANa_0.8^B(Na_0.8Mg_1.2)^CMg₅Si₈O₂₂(OH)₂ indicates that the substitution of Na with Li at the B-sites strongly affects the thermodynamic character and the T _c of the phase transition. The comparison of LNMSH amphiboles with cummingtonitic ones shows that the high-T thermodynamic behaviour is affected by A-site occupancy.     

Structural properties of (Mn1-x Fe x )Nb2O6 columbites from X-ray diffraction and IR spectroscopy

A suite of (Mn_1-x Fe _x )Nb₂O₆ (x=0, 0.05, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1) columbite samples has been prepared by solid-state reaction from oxides. X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic investigations have been carried out in order to gain different perspectives on how the solid solution adapts at different length scales to cation mixing. X-ray powder diffraction and powder absorption IR spectroscopy data are presented. The powder diffraction data show that there is no significant excess volume of mixing on the Fe–Mn columbite join. All the unit-cell parameters decrease linearly as a function of increasing Fe content. Substitution of Fe²⁺ for the larger Mn²⁺ cation causes a decrease in the volume of the A polyhedron, which also becomes more regular with respect to both bond-length and edge-length distortion parameters. No significant variation of the B site has been observed. Wavenumber shifts of the IR peaks nearly all vary linearly with composition, consistent with linear variations of the lattice parameters. Line broadening has been quantified by autocorrelation analysis of the IR spectra. This is interpreted as suggesting that there is some element of local strain or positional disorder at the length scale of second or third nearest neighbours around sites occupied by Fe.     

榴辉岩中石英出溶体的拉曼光谱学研究及其构造意义

利用拉曼光谱学和费氏台方法对若干地区超高压榴辉岩中柯石英和榴辉岩中石英出溶体的超显微构造特征进行了研究.研究结果表明, 石榴石(或绿辉石) 中柯石英向石英相变是一个连续变化过程.绿辉石中石英出溶体和主晶具有一定的晶体学拓扑关系, 即石英出溶体长轴有两个展布方向: 平行于绿辉石(10 0) 裂理面和平行于绿辉石(- 10 1) 面.目前, 部分学者推断榴辉岩绿辉石中石英出溶体可作为超高压变质作用的标志.笔者认为, 棒状定向石英在绿辉石中出溶的温压条件和出溶机理尚未查明.因此, 需加强过量二氧化硅单斜辉石出溶机理的超高压实验研究, 从而为证实石英出溶体作为超高压标志提供实验定量约束.      

铝硅酸盐矿物和玻璃中Al的配位与局部结构

利用同步辐射的AlK边X射线吸收近进结构（XANES）谱研究了刚玉和铝硅酸盐矿物（蓝晶石,红柱石,夕线石和钠长石）中Al的配位与局部结构,证明该方法可以作为新的结构探针研究结构未知体系中Al的配位与局部结构。例如,Al的K边XANES谱证明在室温压条件,钠长石玻璃中的Al保持为四面体配位（AlIV）,局部结构与钠长石晶体中的Al相似;尽管硬玉晶体中的Al为八面体配位,但硬玉玻璃中的Al变为四面体配位（AlIV）。而在相同的高温压条件（4．4GPa,1575C）下制备的硬玉-钠长石玻璃系列中,压力引起四面体配位的Al变成五次（Alv）和六次配位（AlVl）,且五次和六次配位Al的比例随玻璃中硬玉含量的增加而增大。     

俯冲带温度条件下橄榄石中硅氧四面体的非谐振动:透射红外光谱研究

橄榄石既是上地幔的主要矿物,又是俯冲板块的主要矿物。在正常地幔温度条件下,橄榄石中原子之间的振动是非谐振动,这已成为学界共识;然而,对于俯冲带的较低温情况,橄榄石中原子之间的振动的非谐性是否重要,目前还没有比较一致的结论。本研究利用透射红外光谱的方法,系统研究了室温下不同厚度橄榄石中硅氧四面体的红外光谱特征,并着重对其在2100~1500cm-1区域形成的二倍频峰/合频峰进行了指认。在此基础上,本研究通过采集不同温度下的透射红外光谱数据(最高温度达约450℃),确立了橄榄石中硅氧四面体的相应基频峰及二倍频峰峰位对温度的依赖性,进而得出其相应红外振动的非谐系数(χ)随温度(T)的变化关系,具体为:χ838=6.37(2)×10-7×T+0.0014(1)及χ993=7.86(3)×10-7×T+0.0015(1),其中温度的单位为℃。外推到600℃时,有χ838=0.0018(1)及χ993=0.0020(2)。这些结果表明,在俯冲带的较低温条件下,橄榄石中硅氧四面体的内部振动的非谐性可能不重要。     

An infrared spectroscopic study of lawsonite to 20 GPa

The infrared spectrum of CaAl₂Si₂O₇ · H₂O-lawsonite, has been characterized to pressures of 20 GPa at 300 K. Our results constrain the response to compression of the silicate tetrahedra, hydroxyl units, and water molecules in this material. The asymmetric and symmetric stretching and bending vibrations of the Si₂O₇ groups (at zero pressure frequencies between 600 and 1000 cm⁻¹) increase in frequency with pressure at rates between 3.6 and 5.9 cm⁻¹/GPa. All silicate modes appear to shift continuously with pressure to 20 GPa, although the lowest frequency stretching vibration becomes unresolvable above 18 GPa, and a splitting of the main bending vibration is observed near this pressure. The O-H stretches of the hydroxyl units exhibit a discontinuity in their mode shifts at ∼8–9 GPa, which we interpret to be produced by a pressure-induced change in hydrogen bonding. The stretching and bending vibrations of the water molecule are relatively unaffected by compression to 20 GPa, thus demonstrating that the structural cavities in which water molecules reside are relatively rigid. Significant changes in the amplitude of the O-H stretches of the hydroxyl and water units are observed at this pressure as well; nevertheless, our results demonstrate that the dominant structural units in lawsonite persist metastably at 300 K with only modest structural modifications well beyond the known stability field of this phase. Received: 10 July 1998 / Revised, accepted: 23 October 1998