Exponential Gaussian approach for spectral modelling: The EGO algorithm II. Band asymmetry

The present investigation is complementary to a previous paper which introduced the EGO approach to spectral modelling of reflectance measurements acquired in the visible and near-IR range (Pompilio, L., Pedrazzi, G., Sgavetti, M., Cloutis, E.A., Craig, M.A., Roush, T.L. [2009]. Icarus, 201 (2), 781–794). Here, we show the performances of the EGO model in attempting to account for temperature-induced variations in spectra, specifically band asymmetry. in goals are: (1) to recognize and model thermal-induced band asymmetry in reflectance spectra; (2) to develop a basic approach for decomposition of remotely acquired spectra from planetary surfaces, where effects due to temperature variations are most prevalent; (3) to reduce the uncertainty related to quantitative estimation of band position and depth when band asymmetry is occurring. er to accomplish these objectives, we tested the EGO algorithm on a number of measurements acquired on powdered pyroxenes at sample temperature ranging from 80 up to 400 K. The main results arising from this study are: (1) EGO model is able to numerically account for the occurrence of band asymmetry on reflectance spectra; (2) the returned set of EGO parameters can suggest the influence of some additional effect other than the electronic transition responsible for the absorption feature; (3) the returned set of EGO parameters can help in estimating the surface temperature of a planetary body; (4) the occurrence of absorptions which are less affected by temperature variations can be mapped for minerals and thus used for compositional estimates. r work is still required in order to analyze the behaviour of the EGO algorithm with respect to temperature-induced band asymmetry using powdered pyroxene spanning a range of compositions and grain sizes and more complex band shapes.