scholarly journals A spectral library for laser-induced fluorescence analysis as a tool for rare earth element identification

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4465-4483
Author(s):  
Margret C. Fuchs ◽  
Jan Beyer ◽  
Sandra Lorenz ◽  
Suchinder Sharma ◽  
Axel D. Renno ◽  
...  

Abstract. With the recurring interest in rare earth elements (REEs), laser-induced fluorescence (LiF) may provide a powerful tool for their rapid and accurate identification at different stages along their value chain. Applications to natural materials such as minerals and rocks could complement the spectroscopy-based toolkit for innovative, non-invasive exploration technologies. However, the diagnostic assignment of detected emission lines to individual REEs remains challenging because of the complex composition of natural rocks in which they can be found. The resulting mixed spectra and the large amount of data generated demand automated approaches of data evaluation, especially in mapping applications such as drill core scanning. LiF reference data provide the solution for robust REE identification, yet they usually remain in the form of tables of published emission lines. We show that a complete reference spectra library could open manifold options for innovative automated analysis. We present a library of high-resolution LiF reference spectra using the Smithsonian rare earth phosphate standards for electron microprobe analysis. We employ three standard laser wavelengths (325, 442, 532 nm) to record representative spectra in the UV-visible to near-infrared spectral range (340–1080 nm). Excitation at all three laser wavelengths yielded characteristic spectra with distinct REE-related emission lines for EuPO4, TbPO4, DyPO4 and YbPO4. In the other samples, the high-energy excitation at 325 nm caused unspecific, broad-band defect emissions. Here, lower-energy laser excitation is shown to be successful for suppressing non-REE-related emission. At 442 nm excitation, REE reference spectra depict the diagnostic emission lines of PrPO4, SmPO4 and ErPO4. For NdPO4 and HoPO4 the most efficient excitation was achieved with 532 nm. Our results emphasise the possibility of selective REE excitation by changing the excitation wavelength according to the suitable conditions for individual REEs. Our reference spectra provide a database for the transparent and reproducible evaluation of REE-bearing rocks. The LiF spectral library is available at zenodo.org and the registered DOI https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4054606 (Fuchs et al., 2020). Primarily addressing the raw material exploration sector, it aids particularly the development of advanced data processing routines for LiF analysis but can also support further research on the REE luminescence in natural rocks or artificial compounds. It gives access to traceable data for the comparison of emission line positions, emission line intensity ratios and splitting into emission line sub-levels or can be used as reference or training data for automated approaches of component assignment.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margret C. Fuchs ◽  
Jan Beyer ◽  
Sandra Lorenz ◽  
Suchinder Sharma ◽  
Axel D. Renno ◽  
...  

Abstract. With the recurring interest on rare-earth elements (REE), laser-induced fluorescence (LiF) may provide a powerful tool for their rapid and accurate identification at different stages along their value chain. Applications to natural materials such as rocks could complement the spectroscopy-based toolkit for innovative, non-invasive exploration technologies. However, the diagnostic assignment of detected emission lines to individual REE remains challenging, because of the complex composition of natural rocks in which they can be found. The resulting mixed spectra and the large amount of data generated demand for automated approaches of data evaluation, especially in mapping applications such as drill core scanning. LiF reference data provide the solution for robust REE identification, yet they usually remain in the form of tables of published emission lines. We show that a complete reference spectra library could open manifold options for innovative automated analysis. We present a library of high-resolution LiF reference spectra using the Smithsonian rare-earth phosphate standards for electron microprobe analysis.We employ three standard laser wavelengths (325 nm, 442 nm, 532 nm) to record representative spectra in the UV-visible to near-infrared spectral range (340–1080 nm). Excitation at all three laser wavelengths yielded characteristic spectra with distinct REE-related emission lines for EuPO4, TbPO4, DyPO4 and YbPO4. In the other samples, the high-energy excitation at 325 nm caused unspecific, broadband defect emissions. Here, lower energy laser excitation showed successful for suppressing non-REE-related emission. At 442 nm excitation, REE-reference spectra depict the diagnostic emission lines of PrPO4, SmPO4 and ErPO4. For NdPO4 and HoPO4 most efficient excitation was achieved with 532 nm. Our results emphasise on the possibility of selective REE excitation by changing the excitation wavelength according to the suitable conditions for individual REEs. Our reference spectra provide a database for transparent and reproducible evaluation of REE-bearing rocks. The LiF spectral library is available at https://zenodo.org/ and the registered DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4054606 (Fuchs et al., 2020). It gives access to traceable data for manifold further studies on comparison of emission line positions, emission line intensity ratios and splitting into emission line sub-levels or can be used as reference or training data for automated approaches of component assignment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (3) ◽  
pp. 3454-3461
Author(s):  
Gunjan Tomar ◽  
Pragati Pradhan ◽  
Biswajit Paul

ABSTRACT We report results from the analysis of data from two observations of the accreting binary X-ray pulsar Cen X-3 carried out with the broad-band X-ray observatories Suzaku and NuSTAR. The pulse profile is dominated by a broad single peak and show some energy dependence with two additional weak pulse peaks at energies below 15 and 25 keV, respectively. The broad-band X-ray spectrum for 0.8–60.0 keV for Suzaku  and 3.0–60.0 keV for NuSTAR is fitted well with high-energy cut-off power-law model along with soft-excess, multiple iron emission lines and a cyclotron absorption. The cyclotron line energy is found to be $30.29^{+0.68}_{-0.61}$ and $29.22^{+0.28}_{-0.27}$ keV, respectively, in the Suzaku  and NuSTAR  spectra. We make a comparison of these two measurements with four previous measurements of Cyclotron Resonant Scattering Feature (CRSF) in Cen X-3  obtained with Ginga, BeppoSAX,  and RXTE. We find no evidence for a dependence of the CRSF on luminosity. Except for one CRSF measurement with BeppoSAX , the remaining measurements are consistent with a CRSF energy in the range of 29.5–30.0 keV over a luminosity range of 1.1–5.4 × 1037 erg s−1 different from several other sources that show considerable CRSF variation in the same luminosity range.


2021 ◽  
Vol 922 (2) ◽  
pp. 170
Author(s):  
Danielle A. Berg ◽  
John Chisholm ◽  
Dawn K. Erb ◽  
Evan D. Skillman ◽  
Richard W. Pogge ◽  
...  

Abstract Stellar population models produce radiation fields that ionize oxygen up to O+2, defining the limit of standard H ii region models (<54.9 eV). Yet, some extreme emission-line galaxies, or EELGs, have surprisingly strong emission originating from much higher ionization potentials. We present UV HST/COS and optical LBT/MODS spectra of two nearby EELGs that have very high-ionization emission lines (e.g., He ii λλ1640,4686 C iv λλ1548,1550, [Fe v]λ4227, [Ar iv]λλ4711,4740). We define a four-zone ionization model that is augmented by a very high-ionization zone, as characterized by He+2 (>54.4 eV). The four-zone model has little to no effect on the measured total nebular abundances, but does change the interpretation of other EELG properties: we measure steeper central ionization gradients; higher volume-averaged ionization parameters; and higher central T e , n e , and log U values. Traditional three-zone estimates of the ionization parameter can underestimate the average log U by up to 0.5 dex. Additionally, we find a model-independent dichotomy in the abundance patterns, where the α/H abundances are consistent but N/H, C/H, and Fe/H are relatively deficient, suggesting these EELGs are α/Fe-enriched by more than three times. However, there still is a high-energy ionizing photon production problem (HEIP3). Even for such α/Fe enrichment and very high log U s, photoionization models cannot reproduce the very high-ionization emission lines observed in EELGs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 486 (3) ◽  
pp. 3124-3133
Author(s):  
Sibasish Laha ◽  
Ritesh Ghosh ◽  
Shruti Tripathi ◽  
Matteo Guainazzi

ABSTRACT We have investigated the nature and origin of the Fe K emission lines in Mrk 205 using observations with Suzaku and XMM–Newton, aiming to resolve the ambiguity between a broad emission line and multiple unresolved lines of higher ionization. We detect the presence of a narrow Fe K α emission line along with a broad-band Compton reflection hump at energies $E\gt 10\rm \, \, {\rm keV}$. These are consistent with reflected emission of hard X-ray photons off a Compton-thick material of $N_{\rm H}\ge 2.15\times 10^{24}\rm \, \, {\rm cm^{-2}}$. In addition we detect a partially covering ionized absorption with ionization parameter $\log (\xi /\rm \, erg\, cm\, s^{-1})=1.9_{-0.5}^{+0.1}$, column density $N_{\rm H}=(5.6_{-1.9}^{+2.0})\times 10^{22}\rm \, \, {\rm cm^{-2}}$, and a covering factor of $0.22_{-0.06}^{+0.09}$. We detect the presence of emission arising out of ionized disc reflection contributing in the soft and hard X-rays consistently in all the observations. We however, could not definitely ascertain the presence of a relativistically broadened Fe line in the X-ray spectra. Using relativistic reflection models, we found that the data are unable to statistically distinguish between the scenarios when the supermassive black hole is non-rotating and when it is maximally spinning. Using the disc reflection model we also find that the accretion disc of the active galactic nucleus may be truncated at a distance 6RG &lt; R &lt; 12RG, which may suggest why there may not be any broad Fe line. The Eddington rate of the source is low (λEdd = 0.03), which points to an inefficient accretion, possibly due to a truncated disc.


2020 ◽  
Vol 634 ◽  
pp. A111 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. U. Fynbo ◽  
P. Møller ◽  
K. E. Heintz ◽  
J. N. Burchett ◽  
L. Christensen ◽  
...  

We report on the discovery of a peculiar broad absorption line (BAL) quasar identified in our Gaia-assisted survey of red quasars. The systemic redshift of this quasar was difficult to establish because of the absence of conspicuous emission lines. Based on deep and broad BAL troughs of at least Si IV, C IV, and Al III, a redshift of z = 2.41 was established under the assumption that the systemic redshift can be inferred from the red edge of the BAL troughs. However, we observe a weak and spatially extended emission line at 4450 Å that is most likely due to Lyman-α emission, which implies a systemic redshift of z = 2.66 if correctly identified. There is also evidence for the onset of Lyman-α forest absorption bluewards of 4450 Å and evidence for Hα emission in the K band consistent with a systemic redshift of z = 2.66. If this redshift is correct, the quasar is an extreme example of a detached low-ionisation BAL quasar. The BALs must originate from material moving with very large velocities ranging from 22 000 km s−1 to 40 000 km s−1. To our knowledge, this is the first case of a systemic-redshift measurement based on extended Lyman-α emission for a BAL quasar. This method could also be useful in cases of sufficiently distant BL Lac quasars without systemic-redshift information.


2021 ◽  
Vol 502 (3) ◽  
pp. 3357-3373
Author(s):  
Henry Poetrodjojo ◽  
Brent Groves ◽  
Lisa J Kewley ◽  
Sarah M Sweet ◽  
Sebastian F Sanchez ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We measure the gas-phase metallicity gradients of 248 galaxies selected from Data Release 2 of the SAMI Galaxy Survey. We demonstrate that there are large systematic discrepancies between the metallicity gradients derived using common strong emission line metallicity diagnostics. We determine which pairs of diagnostics have Spearman’s rank coefficients greater than 0.6 and provide linear conversions to allow the accurate comparison of metallicity gradients derived using different strong emission line diagnostics. For galaxies within the mass range 8.5 &lt; log (M/M⊙) &lt; 11.0, we find discrepancies of up to 0.11 dex/Re between seven popular diagnostics in the metallicity gradient–mass relation. We find a suggestion of a break in the metallicity gradient–mass relation, where the slope shifts from negative to positive, occurs between 9.5 &lt; log (M/M⊙) &lt; 10.5 for the seven chosen diagnostics. Applying our conversions to the metallicity gradient–mass relation, we reduce the maximum dispersion from 0.11 dex/Re to 0.02 dex/Re. These conversions provide the most accurate method of converting metallicity gradients when key emission lines are unavailable. We find that diagnostics that share common sets of emission line ratios agree best, and that diagnostics calibrated through the electron temperature provide more consistent results compared to those calibrated through photoionization models.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (S359) ◽  
pp. 131-135
Author(s):  
S. B. Kraemer ◽  
T. J. Turner ◽  
D. M. Crenshaw ◽  
H. R. Schmitt ◽  
M. Revalski ◽  
...  

AbstractWe have analyzed Chandra/High Energy Transmission Grating spectra of the X-ray emission line gas in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151. The zeroth-order spectral images show extended H- and He-like O and Ne, up to a distance r ˜ 200 pc from the nucleus. Using the 1st-order spectra, we measure an average line velocity ˜230 km s–1, suggesting significant outflow of X-ray gas. We generated Cloudy photoionization models to fit the 1st-order spectra; the fit required three distinct emission-line components. To estimate the total mass of ionized gas (M) and the mass outflow rates, we applied the model parameters to fit the zeroth-order emission-line profiles of Ne IX and Ne X. We determined an M ≍ 5.4 × 105Mʘ. Assuming the same kinematic profile as that for the [O III] gas, derived from our analysis of Hubble Space Telescope/Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph spectra, the peak X-ray mass outflow rate is approximately 1.8 Mʘ yr–1, at r ˜ 150 pc. The total mass and mass outflow rates are similar to those determined using [O III], implying that the X-ray gas is a major outflow component. However, unlike the optical outflows, the X-ray emitting mass outflow rate does not drop off at r > 100pc, which suggests that it may have a greater impact on the host galaxy.


1982 ◽  
Vol 99 ◽  
pp. 121-125
Author(s):  
Philip Massey

Until now, all that we've known about the magnitudes and colors of Wolf-Rayet stars has been based on photoelectric photometry made with 50–150 A wide interference filters, selected to exclude as far as possible the stronger emission lines (Westerlund 1966; Smith 1968, Lundstrom and Stenholm 1979). This was clearly an improvement on the pioneering efforts of Pyper (1966), who obtained broad band photometry and attempted to correct for the presence of emission; nevertheless, with modern detectors it is possible to go one step further.


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