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Abstract-Diagnostic mineral absorption features for pyroxene(s), olivine, phyllosilicates, and hydroxides have been detected in the near-infrared (NIR: approximately 0.75-2.50 lm) spectra for 60% of the Tholen-classified (Tholen 1984) M-⁄ X-asteroids observed in this study. Nineteen asteroids (42%) exhibit weak Band I (approximately 0.9 lm) ± Band II (approximately 1.9 lm) absorptions, three asteroids (7%) exhibit a weak Band I (approximately 1.05-1.08 lm) olivine absorption, four asteroids (9%) display multiple absorptions suggesting phyllosilicate ± oxide ⁄ hydroxide minerals, one (1) asteroid exhibits an S-asteroid type NIR spectrum, and 18 asteroids (40%) are spectrally featureless in the NIR, but have widely varying slopes. Tholen M-asteroids are defined as asteroids exhibiting featureless visible-wavelength (k) spectra with moderate albedos (Tholen 1989). Tholen X-asteroids are also defined using the same spectral criterion, but without albedo information. Previous work has suggested spectral and mineralogical diversity in the M-asteroid population (Rivkin et al. 1995(Rivkin et al. , 2000Busarev 2002;Clark et al. 2004;Hardersen et al. 2005;Birlan et al. 2007;Ockert-Bell et al. 2008, 2010Shepard et al. 2008Shepard et al. , 2010Fornasier et al. 2010). The pyroxene-bearing asteroids are dominated by orthopyroxene with several likely to include higher-Ca clinopyroxene components. Potential meteorite analogs include mesosiderites, CB ⁄ CH chondrites, and silicate-bearing NiFe meteorites. The Eos family, olivine-bearing asteroids are most consistent with a CO chondrite analog. The aqueously altered asteroids display multiple, weak absorptions (0.85, 0.92, 0.97, 1.10, 1.40, and 2.30-2.50 lm) indicative of phyllosilicate ± hydroxide minerals. The spectrally featureless asteroids range from metal-rich to metal-poor with meteorite analogs including NiFe meteorites, enstatite chondrites, and stony-iron meteorites.

Olivine-dominated asteroids are a rare type of objects formed either in nebular processes or through magmatic differentiation. The analysis of meteorite samples suggest that at least 100 parent bodies in the main belt experienced partial or complete melting and differentiation before being disrupted. However, only a few olivine-dominated asteroids, representative of the mantle of disrupted differentiated bodies, are known to exist. Due to the paucity of these objects in the main belt their origin and evolution have been a matter of great debate over the years. In this work we present a detailed mineralogical analysis of twelve olivine-dominated asteroids. Within our sample we distinguish two classes, one that we call monomineralic-olivine asteroids and another referred to as olivine-rich asteroids. For the monomineralic-olivine asteroids the olivine chemistry was found to range from ~ Fo49 to Fo70, consistent with the values measured for brachinites and R chondrites. In the case of the olivine-rich asteroids we determined their olivine and low-Ca pyroxene abundance using a new set of spectral calibrations derived from the analysis of R chondrites spectra. We found that the olivine abundance for these asteroids varies from 0.68 to 0.93, while the fraction of low-Ca pyroxene to total pyroxene ranges from 0.6 to 0.9. A search for dynamical connections between the olivine-dominated asteroids and asteroid families found no genetic link (of the type core-mantel-crust) between these objects.Comment: 28 pages, 11 figures, 5 tables. This version includes a few minor changes in the text to match the final version published in Icaru

Abstract-The 0.35-2.5 lm reflectance spectra of iron meteorite powders and slabs have been studied as a function of composition, surface texture (for slabs), grain size (for powders), and viewing geometry (for powders). Powder spectra are invariably red-sloped over this wavelength interval and have a narrow range of visible albedos (approximately 10-15% at 0.56 lm). Metal (Fe:Ni) compositional variations have no systematic effect on the powder spectra, increasing grain size results in more red-sloped spectra, and changes in viewing geometry have variable effects on overall reflectance and spectral slope. Roughened metal slab spectra have a wider, and higher, range of visible albedos than powders (22-74% at 0.56 lm), and are also red-sloped. Smoother slabs exhibit greater differences from iron meteorite powder spectra, exhibiting wider variations in overall reflectance, spectral slopes, and spectral shapes. No unique spectral parameters exist that allow for powder and slab spectra to be fully separated in all cases. Spectral differences between slabs and powders can be used to constrain possible surface properties, and causes of rotational spectral variations, of M-asteroids. The magnitude of spectral variations between M-asteroids and rotational and spectral variability does not necessarily imply a dramatic change in surface properties, as the differences in albedo and ⁄ or spectral slope can be accommodated by modest changes in grain size (for powders), small changes in surface roughness (for slabs), or variations in viewing geometry. Since metal powders exhibit much less spectral variability than slabs, M-asteroid spectral variability requires larger changes in either powder properties or viewing geometry than for slabs for a given degree of spectral variation.