Broadband alternating current magnetic susceptibility: Method and application to the characterization of magnetic particles in igneous rocks

Low-field alternating current magnetic susceptibility (MS) is among the most commonly used magnetic property, not only in rock and mineral magnetism but also in environmental magnetism studies. This study proposes a new rock magnetic method, Frequency Spectrum of MS (FSM), based on the measurement of the real component of MS over a wide range of frequency (100 Hz to 500 kHz) and the measurement of the imaginary component at high frequencies in the order of 10-10² kHz. This study presents the FSM results at room and low temperatures obtained from a variety of igneous rocks with SP to SD grain sizes, including acidic to basic volcanic rocks in Japan and a basalt in Hawaii. The FSMs from the andesite samples at room temperature unexceptionally show small but anomalous increase, as much as 5%, over a specific frequency interval between 10 kHz and 120 kHz. In contrast, FSMs of basalts from Oshima and Hawaii show no such peak, a typical pattern indicating the presence of SP grain ensembles. The anomalous FSM from the andesites suggests a new rock and mineral magnetic behavior indicating either magnetic resonance or magnetic relaxation. Considering the anomalous FSM patterns and their variations at low temperatures, it is suggested that the hypothetical resonance could be relevant to some magnetoelastic phenomenon, in which magnetic energy could be dissipated through a long-range, magnetostructural coupling, most likely, magnetostriction. The fact that the annealed andesite samples showed less developed FSM anomaly strongly supports this hypothesis, because annealing generally lowers the internal stress leading to the reduction of resistance in a forced oscillation system. Analyses of the low temperature results confirm magnetic relaxation phenomena taking place at low temperatures, and consequently support the above interpretation.