Nature and origin of lamellar magnetism in the hematite-ilmenite series.

Autor: Robinson, Peter, Harrison, Richard J., McEnroe, Suzanne A., Hargraves, Robert B.
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Zdroj: American Mineralogist; May/Jun2004, Vol. 89 Issue 5/6, p725-747, 23p, 3 Black and White Photographs, 9 Diagrams, 13 Charts, 5 Graphs
Abstrakt: Grains consisting of finely exsolved members of the hematite-ilmenite solid-solution series, such as are present in some slowly cooled middle Proterozoic igneous and metamorphic rocks, impart unusually strong and stable remanent magnetization. TEM analysis shows multiple generations of ilmenite and hematite exsolution lamellae, with lamellar widths ranging from millimeters to nanometers. Rock-magnetic experiments suggest remanence is thermally locked to the antiferromagnetism of the hematite component of the intergrowths, yet is stronger than can be explained by canted antiferromagnetic (CAF) hematite or coexisting paramagnetic (PM) Fe-Ti- ordered (R3) ilmenite alone. In alternating field demagnetization to 100 mT, many samples lose little remanence, indicating that the NRM is stable over billions of years. This feature has implications for understanding magnetism of deep rocks on Earth, or on planets like Mars that no longer have a magnetic field. Atomic-scale simulations of an R3 ilmenite lamella in a CAF hematite host, based on empirical cation-cation and spin-spin pair interaction parameters, show that contacts of the lamella are occupied by "contact layers" with a hybrid composition of Fe ions intermediate between Fe2+-rich layers in ilmenite and Fe3+-rich layers in hematite. Structural configurations dictate that each lamella has two contact layers magnetically in phase with each other, and out of phase with the magnetic moment of an odd non-self- canceling Fe3+-rich layer in the hematite host. The two contact layers and the odd hematite layer form a magnetic substructure with opposite but unequal magnetic moments: a lamellar "ferrimagnetism" made possible by the exsolution. Because it is confined to magnetic interaction involving the moments of just three ionic layers associated with each individual exsolution lamella, lamellar magnetism is unique and quite distinct... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Databáze: Complementary Index