Determination of trapping parameters of the high temperature thermoluminescence peak in equilibrated ordinary chondrites

Abstract

Most meteorites exhibit thermoluminescence (TL) that can be used to constrain their recent thermal and irradiation history, but quantitative conclusions require a knowledge of the detailed TL peak structure of the TL glow curve. We have determined TL peak parameters for the high temperature portion of the glow curve for six ordinary chondrites: Chicora (LL6); Innisfree (L5); Lost City (H5); Paragould (LL6); Pribram (H5); and Tilden (L6). The saturation dose for all these meteorites is approximately 3600 Gy. Published procedures were used to determine the number and temperatures of peaks in the high temperature (>570 K) portion of the glow curve and peak fitting was used to estimate TL trap parameters for each peak. These data were then tested and adjusted, if necessary, by comparing calculated decay results with TL glow curves for samples heated at ≈420 K for various times. We find evidence for four TL peaks in the high temperature portion of the glow curve, where trapping parameters vary slightly from meteorite to meteorite. For the Lost City meteorite, the TL peak temperatures (K), activation energies (E, eV), and Arrhenius factors ( s, × 10 −9 s −1) are: 325, 1.26, 4.8; 360, 1.33, 3.88; 401, 1.44, 5.8; and 455, 1.5, 2.25, respectively. These data could be used to estimate dose rates for meteorites; however, the albedo values required for the calculation are not yet sufficiently known. However, terrestrial ages, or surface exposure ages, for meteorite finds from hot deserts like those in Australia or North Africa, can be estimated from these data.