2016A&A...586A..15M

It has recently been proposed that the surface composition of icy main-belt asteroids (B-, C-, Cb-, Cg-, P-, and D-types) may be consistent with that of chondritic porous interplanetary dust particles (CP IDPs). In the light of this new association, we re-examine the surface composition of a sample of asteroids belonging to the Themis family in order to place new constraints on the formation and evolution of its parent body. We acquired near-infrared spectral data for 15 members of the Themis family and complemented this dataset with existing spectra in the visible and mid-infrared ranges to perform a thorough analysis of the composition of the family. Assuming end-member minerals and particle sizes (<2µm) similar to those found in CP IDPs, we used a radiative transfer code adapted for light scattering by small particles to model the spectral properties of these asteroids. Our best-matching models indicate that most objects in our sample (12/15) possess a surface composition that is consistent with the composition of CP IDPs. We find ultra-fine grained (<2µm) Fe-bearing olivine glasses to be among the dominant constituents. We further detect the presence of minor fractions of Mg-rich crystalline silicates (enstatite and forsterite). The few unsuccessfully matched asteroids may indicate the presence of interlopers in the family or objects sampling a distinct compositional layer of the parent body. The composition inferred for the Themis family members suggests that the parent body accreted from a mixture of ice and anhydrous silicates (mainly amorphous) and subsequently underwent limited heating. By comparison with existing thermal models that assume a 400-km diameter progenitor, the accretion process of the Themis parent body must have occurred relatively late (>4Myr after CAIs) so that only moderate internal heating occurred in its interior, preventing aqueous alteration of the outer shell.