Optical Properties of Low Temperature Water Ice

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

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Scientific paper

The surfaces of many outer solar system satellites are predominantly composed of low temperature water ice. Spectra and phase curves of light reflected from their surfaces have previously been interpreted by means of multiple scattering models (\eg\ Buratti 1985, Verbiscer and Veverka 1990, Domingue et al. 1995). These radiative transfer models require as inputs the optical constants of H_2O ice. Optical constants compiled by Warren (1984) are frequently used, and these values are appropriate for temperatures within 60 K of the melting point. However, the optical constants of water ice vary with temperature, as shown by Fink and Larson (1975). We have measured the near-infrared spectral transmission of monocrystalline samples of water ice at cryogenic temperatures and will present the results of these measurements. Radiative transfer models of icy satellite surfaces also depend on a variety of simplifying assumptions about the optical and mechanical character of a satellite's surface. Using Monte-Carlo simulations of the scattering of photons within individual ice grains and in surfaces composed of multiple ice grains, we have been exploring the sensitivity of reflectance to some of the effects frequently ignored in radiative transfer models. These include effects due to physical contact between partially sintered grains, and effects due to the polarization of light. We will present results from our simulations, as well as from laboratory experiments involving well-characterized samples of granular ice, carried out to test the accuracy of our approach.

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