Abstract
In this paper we report the results of a comparison between ion irradiation experiments (N + ,A r + ,A r ++ ) on silicates, a large spectral data set of silicate-rich (S-type) asteroids, and ordinary chondrite meteorites (OCs). Ion irradiation experiments – conducted on Fe-poor olivine, Fe-poor orthopyroxene, bulk silicate-rich rocks and one OC – have been monitored by means of reflectance spectroscopy (0.3–2.5 µm). All these experiments produce reddening and darkening of reflectance spectra. The observational data consist of a set of visible and near-infrared (0.4–2.4 µm) spectra of S-type asteroids, that belong to main belt (MBAs) and near-Earth (NEOs) populations. By analyzing the spectra of OCs, MBAs, and NEOs, we find a similar mineralogy between most asteroids and meteorites, but different distributions of spectral slopes. We interpret these findings in the frame of space weathering induced by solar wind ion irradiation.
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