Related papers: Do cement nanoparticles exist in space ?
Nanometer- and micrometer-sized solid particles play an important role in the evolutionary cycle of stars and interstellar matter. The optical properties of cosmic grains determine the interaction of the radiation field with the solids,…
Nanometre- to micrometre-sized solid dust particles play a vital role in star and planet formations. Despite of their importance, however, our understanding of physical and chemical properties of dust particles is still provisional. We have…
The dense Galactic environment is a large reservoir of interstellar dust. Therefore, this region represents a perfect laboratory to study the properties of the cosmic dust grains. X-rays are the most direct way to detect the interaction of…
It has been proposed, or confirmed, that diamond nanoparticles exist in various environments in space: close to active galactic nuclei, in the vicinity of supernovae and pulsars, in the interior of several planets in the Solar system, in…
Silicates are an important component of interstellar dust and the structure of these grains -- amorphous versus crystalline -- is sensitive to the local physical conditions. We have studied the infrared spectra of a sample of ultra-luminous…
Studying absorption and scattering of X-ray radiation by interstellar dust grains allows us to access the physical and chemical properties of cosmic grains even in the densest regions of the Galaxy. We aim at characterising the dust…
Absorption lines in the spectra of distant quasars whose sightlines pass through foreground galaxies provide a valuable tool to probe the dust and gas compositions of the interstellar medium (ISM) in galaxies. The first evidence of silicate…
Interstellar dust spans a wide range in size distribution, ranging from ultrasmall grains of a few Angstroms to micrometer-size grains. While the presence of nanometer-size dust grains in the Galactic interstellar medium was speculated six…
Amorphous silicate dust is a major component in the interstellar and circumstellar dust formed in the outflow of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. Although iron depletion is observed in the interstellar medium (ISM), the exact form and…
We calculate the absorption efficiencies of composite silicate grains with inclusions of graphite and silicon carbide in the spectral range 5--25$\rm \mu m$. We study the variation in absorption profiles with volume fractions of inclusions.…
The detection of the 11.3-micron emission feature characteristic of the Si--C stretch in carbon-rich evolved stars reveals that silicon carbide (SiC) dust grains are condensed in the outflows of carbon stars. SiC dust could be a significant…
Carbon solids are ubiquitous material in the interstellar space. However, the formation pathway of carbonaceous matter in astrophysical environments as well as in terrestrial gas-phase condensation reactions is not yet understood. Laser…
The dusty interstellar medium (ISM) of the Milky Way is distributed in a complex, cloudy structure. It is fundamental to the radiation balance within the Milky Way, provides a reaction surface to form complex molecules, and is the feedstock…
Carbonates have repeatedly been discussed as possible carriers of stardust emission bands. However, the band assignments proposed so far were mainly based on room temperature powder transmission spectra of the respective minerals. Since…
We study the dust present in 56 Galactic planetary nebulae (PNe) through their iron depletion factors, their C/O abundance ratios (in 51 objects), and the dust features that appear in their infrared spectra (for 33 objects). Our sample…
Whether ice in cold cosmic environments is physically separated from the silicate dust or mixed with individual silicate moieties is not known. However, different grain models give very different compositions and temperatures of grains. The…
The composition and properties of interstellar silicate dust are not well understood. In X-rays, interstellar dust can be studied in detail by making use of the fine structure features in the Si K-edge. The features in the Si K-edge offer a…
Cement is the most widely used manufacturing material in the world and improving its toughness would allow for the design of slender infrastructure, requiring less material. To this end, we investigate by means of molecular dynamics…
We investigate the composition and shape distribution of silicate dust grains in the interstellar medium. The effect of the amount of magnesium in the silicate lattice is studied. We fit the spectral shape of the interstellar 10 mu…
Our current understanding of interstellar dust is summarized at an introductory level. Submicron-sized interstellar dust grains absorb and scatter light, and reradiate the absorbed energy in the infrared. The grain population spans a range…