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A Spectroscopic Survey of Primitive Main Belt Asteroid Populations

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A Spectroscopic Survey of Primitive Main Belt Asteroid Populations University of Central Florida STARS Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020- 2021 A Spectroscopic Survey of Primitive Main Belt Asteroid Populations Anicia Arredondo-Guerrero University of Central Florida Part of the Astrophysics and Astronomy Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd2020 University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access) is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020- by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STARS Citation Arredondo-Guerrero, Anicia, "A Spectroscopic Survey of Primitive Main Belt Asteroid Populations" (2021). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-. 469. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd2020/469 A SPECTROSCOPIC SURVEY OF PRIMITIVE MAIN BELT ASTEROID POPULATIONS by ANICIA ARREDONDO B.A. Astrophysics, Wellesley College, 2016 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Physics, Planetary Sciences Track in the Department of Physics in the College of Sciences at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Spring Term 2021 Major Professor: Humberto Campins © 2021 Anicia Arredondo ii ABSTRACT Primitive asteroids have remained mostly unprocessed since their formation, and the study of these populations has implications about the conditions of the early solar system and the evolution of the asteroid belt. This spectroscopic study of inner main-belt (IMB) primitive asteroids addresses three central objectives: 1) determine the origin and composition of objects in the near-Earth object population, particularly spacecraft targets; 2) test theories of how processes such as space weath- ering and aqueous alteration affect surface properties of small, low-albedo bodies; and 3) explore how primitive objects in the background population (i.e., asteroids not belonging to dynamical families) relate to each other and their implications for the evolution of the asteroid belt. In this work, I use the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility and the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo to obtain near-infrared (NIR; 0.7 to 2.5 microns) spectra of objects from three families and the background population. I compare the sample spectra with the published spectra of near-Earth objects and dy- namical studies to test arguments for origin. I compare the VNIR spectra with laboratory spectra of meteorites to constrain the asteroid compositions. I test for space-weathering effects by compar- ing the spectra of the younger families with the older, more-weathered families. I look for trends between the spectra of objects in the background family and their physical and orbital properties to uncover information about this primordial population at the time of formation and throughout its evolution. Chapter 3 describes the NIR characterization of the Klio family. Chapter 4 describes the NIR characterization of the Chaldaea family and its relationship to the Klio family. In Chapter 5, I characterize the Sulamitis family and compare with the Polana family. Finally, in Chapter 6 I characterize the primitive background population and compare the background objects with the families at similar locations. iii Dedicated to every Latina astronomer who paved the way for me. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I have many people to thank for their support and guidance throughout the time spent working on this dissertation. First and foremost, thank you to Dr. Humberto Campins for poaching me on my first visit to UCF and for advising me for the last four years. Your passion for science is infectious and I have enjoyed learning from you. Gracias a todo el grupo PRIMASS por todas las cosas que me han ensenado˜ y por perdonar el hecho de que no hablo espanol.˜ Rose and Rayna, my best pals, there are really no words to express how much I love and appreciate you so I will buy you each a pizza instead. Karley, thank you for being by my side throughout the writing process and for keeping the house at 65° so I can actually sleep. Mom, thank you for raising me in a way that made me confident that I can achieve anything that I put my mind to. Thank you to everyone in the UCF Planetary group, especially my cohort: Amy, Michael, Keanna, and Isabel. Thank you to Jenny and Katie for taking me under your wing when I moved to Orlando and for sharing your cats with me. Thank you to my dissertation committee, Dr. Noemi Pinilla- Alonso, Dr. Yan Fernandez, Dr. Dan Britt, and Dr. Cristina Thomas for your time and counsel. I’d like to extend an enormous thank you to Bobby Bus for having pity on a poor grad student and giving me telescope time when I really needed it. Also thank you to the wonderful TOs and the rest of the IRTF staff for all of your knowledge and assistance. Lastly, to Dr. Stephen Slivan- You taught me everything I know about observing. There were many times during my PhD work that I would think back to something I learned while working with you. Without you, I wouldn’t be in grad school and I definitely wouldn’t be an astronomer. I am forever grateful to you. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES . xii LIST OF TABLES . xvi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 Primitive asteroids . .4 1.2 Aqueous alteration . .5 1.3 Near-Earth asteroids . .6 1.4 The Inner Main Belt . .8 1.5 PRIMitive Asteroid Spectroscopic Survey . 12 1.6 Overview of dissertation . 14 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY . 15 2.1 Spectroscopy . 15 2.2 Observations . 17 2.2.1 Instruments . 19 2.3 Analysis of the reflectance spectra . 19 vi 2.3.1 Taxonomy . 20 2.3.2 Absorption features . 23 2.3.3 Spectral slope . 25 2.3.4 Curvature . 27 CHAPTER 3: NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY OF THE KLIO PRIMITIVE INNER- BELT ASTEROID FAMILY . 29 3.1 Introduction . 30 3.2 Observations and data reduction . 33 3.2.1 IRTF . 36 3.2.2 TNG . 39 3.3 Results and analysis . 40 3.3.1 Characteristics of the sample . 40 3.3.2 Spectral slopes and curvature . 41 3.3.3 Spectral homogeneity of the Klio sample . 43 3.3.4 Comparison with the Polana family . 47 3.3.5 Interloper (12) Victoria . 48 3.3.6 Comparison with (101955) Bennu and (162173) Ryugu . 50 vii 3.4 Discussion . 52 3.4.1 The possibility of a third compositional group . 52 3.4.2 Spectral differences with Polana: consistent with space weathering? . 54 3.5 Conclusion . 55 CHAPTER 4: NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY OF THE CHALDAEA ASTEROID FAMILY: POSSIBLE LINK TO THE KLIO FAMILY . 58 4.1 Introduction . 59 4.2 Observations and data reduction . 64 4.2.1 IRTF . 67 4.2.2 TNG . 69 4.3 Results and analysis . 70 4.3.1 Characteristics of the sample . 70 4.3.2 Spectral slopes and curvature . 74 4.3.3 Spectral homogeneity of the Chaldaea sample . 78 4.3.4 Comparison with Klio . 80 4.4 Discussion . 83 4.4.1 Spectral similarities with Klio – one common parent body? . 83 viii 4.4.2 Spectral differences with Klio – inconsistent with space weathering . 85 4.4.3 The existence of interlopers . 87 4.5 Summary and Conclusion . 88 CHAPTER 5: NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY OF THE SULAMITIS ASTEROID FAMILY: SURPRISING SIMILARITIES IN THE INNER BELT PRIMITIVE ASTEROID POPULATION . 90 5.1 Introduction . 91 5.2 Observations and data reduction . 96 5.2.1 IRTF . 100 5.2.2 TNG . 102 5.3 Results and analysis . 102 5.3.1 Taxonomy determination . 103 5.3.2 Spectral slopes and curvature . 106 5.3.3 Reanalysis of Polana family data . 109 5.4 Discussion . 111 5.4.1 Spectral homogeneity in the NIR despite diversity in the visible . 111 5.4.2 Comparison with other IMB families . 112 5.4.3 Comparison with (101955) Bennu and (162173) Ryugu . 115 ix 5.5 Summary and conclusion . 117 CHAPTER 6: SPECTROSCOPY OF THE INNER BELT PRIMITIVE ASTEROID BACK- GROUND POPULATION . 119 6.1 Introduction . 120 6.2 Observations and data reduction . 124 6.2.1 Visible . 125 6.2.2 NIR . 130 6.2.2.1 IRTF . 136 6.2.2.2 TNG . 137 6.3 Results and analysis . 142 6.3.1 Characteristics of the sample . 142 6.3.2 Taxonomy determination . 143 6.3.3 Spectral slopes . 145 6.3.4 Curvature . 148 6.3.5 Aqueous alteration . 149 6.3.6 Comparison with the primitive IMB families . 153 6.3.7 Comparison with (101955) Bennu and (162173) Ryugu . 160 x 6.3.8 Comparison with meteorites . 164 6.3.9 Space weathering . 167 6.4 Discussion . 172 6.4.1 What the PBF tells us.
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