Related papers: A common column density threshold for scattering a…
Dust polarisation observations at optical wavelengths help understand the dust grain properties and trace the plane-of-the-sky component of the magnetic field. In this study, we make use of published optical polarisation data acquired with…
The formation of stars is inextricably linked to the structure of their parental molecular clouds. Here we take a number of nearby giant molecular clouds (GMCs) and analyse their column density and mass distributions. This investigation is…
We present the results of a three-dimensional Monte Carlo radiative transfer code for starless molecular cloud cores heated by an external isotropic or non-isotropic interstellar radiation field. The code computes the dust temperature…
By radiation transfer models with a realistic power spectra of the projected density distributions, we show that the optical properties of grains are poorly constrained by observations of reflection nebulae. The ISM is known to be…
It is known that the millimeter dust thermal emission of protoplanetary disks is affected by scattering, such that for optically thick disks the emission decreases with respect to the pure absorption case and the spectral indices can reach…
We report near-infrared (IR) observations of high Galactic latitude clouds to investigate diffuse Galactic light (DGL), which is starlight scattered by interstellar dust grains. The observations were performed at $1.1$ and $1.6\,\rm{\mu m}$…
We have computed the dust temperature distribution to be expected in a pre-protostellar core in the phase prior to the onset of gravitational instability. We have done this in the approximation that the heating of the dust grains is solely…
Increasing evidences provided primarily by the cluster lensing and numerical simulations of cluster formation indicate that galaxy clusters may contain compact cores that are substantially smaller than the cores revealed by the X-ray…
We demonstrate that ionization of $\text{H}_2$ by dark matter in dense molecular clouds can provide strong constraints on the scattering strength of dark matter with electrons. Molecular clouds have high UV-optical attenuation, shielding…
We present Submillimeter Array (SMA) observations of seven massive molecular clumps which are dark in the far-infrared for wavelengths up to 70 $\mu$m. Our 1.3 mm continuum images reveal 44 dense cores, with gas masses ranging from 1.4 to…
The in-situ detection of interstellar dust grains in the Solar System by the dust instruments on-board the Ulysses and Galileo spacecraft as well as the recent measurements of hyperbolic radar meteors give information on the properties of…
Using three dimensional Monte Carlo radiation transfer models of photoionisation and dust scattering, we explore different components of the widespread diffuse H$\alpha$ emission observed in the interstellar medium of the Milky Way and…
We review the properties of dust in protoplanetary disks around optically visible pre-main sequence stars obtained with a variety of observational techniques, from measurements of scattered light at visual and infrared wavelengths to…
In this investigation, we present an analysis of the metallicity distribution that pertains to neutral gas in the local Galactic interstellar medium (ISM). We derive relative ISM metallicities for a sample of 84 sight lines probing diffuse…
We measure the optical spectrum of the Diffuse Galactic Light (DGL) -- the local Milky Way in reflection -- using 92,000 blank-sky spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We correlate the SDSS optical intensity in regions of blank…
The origin of grain size distribution in the interstellar medium is one of the most fundamental problems in the interstellar physics. In the Milky Way, smaller grains are more abundant in number, but their origins are not necessarily…
Sufficiently massive clumps of molecular gas collapse under self-gravity and fragment to spawn a cluster of stars that have a range of masses. We investigate observationally the early stages of formation of a stellar cluster in a massive…
New 3.3--3.6~$\mu$m spectra were obtained of nine young stellar objects embedded in molecular clouds. An absorption feature at $\sim$3.47~$\mu$m (2880~cm$^{-1}$) with FWHM$\sim$0.09 $\mu$m (80 cm$^{-1}$), first identified by Allamandola et…
Context: Stars form in the cold dense cores of interstellar molecular clouds and the detailed knowledge of the spectrum of masses of such cores is clearly a key for the understanding of the origin of the IMF. To date, observations have…
Studies of dust scattering properties in astrophysical objects with Milky Way interstellar dust are reviewed. Such objects are reflection nebulae, dark clouds, and the Diffuse Galactic Light (DGL). To ensure their basic quality, studies had…