Related papers: A Far-Infrared Observational Test of the Direction…
Polarization carries information about the magnetic fields in interstellar clouds. The observations of polarized dust emission are used to study the role of magnetic fields in the evolution of molecular clouds and the initial phases of…
Interstellar grain alignment studies are currently experiencing a renaissance due to the development of a new quantitative theory based on Radiative Alignment Torques (RAT). One of the distinguishing predictions of this theory is a…
Polarized emission from interstellar dust grains is commonly used to infer information about the underlying magnetic field from the diffuse interstellar medium to molecular cloud cores. Therefore, the ability to accurately determine…
Interstellar polarization in the optical/infrared has long been known to be due to asymmetrical dust grains aligned with the magnetic field and can potentially provide a resource effective way to probe both the topology and strength of the…
Grain alignment by radiative torques (RATs) has been extensively studied for various environment conditions, including interstellar medium, dense molecular clouds, and accretion disks, thanks to significant progress in observational,…
Polarimetry is one of the most informative techniques of studying magnetic fields in molecular clouds. How reliable the interpretation of the polarization maps in terms of magnetic fields is the issue that the grain alignment theory…
We study alignment of grains by radiative torques. We found steep rise of radiative torque efficiency as grain size increases. This allows larger grains that are known to exist within molecular clouds to be aligned by the attenuated and…
While the problem of grain alignment was posed more than 60 years ago the quantitative model of grain alignment that can account for the observed polarization arising from aligned grains has been formulated only recently. The quantitative…
Radiative torques on irregular dust grains, in addition to producing superthermal rotation, play a direct dynamical role in the alignment of interstellar dust with the local magnetic field. The equations governing the orientation of…
Polarization arising from aligned dust grains presents a unique opportunity to study magnetic fields in the diffuse interstellar medium and molecular clouds. Polarization from circumstellar regions, accretion disks and comet atmospheres can…
The linear polarization of thermal dust emission provides a powerful tool to probe interstellar and circumstellar magnetic fields, because aspherical grains tend to align themselves with magnetic field lines. While the Radiative Alignment…
Magnetic fields play a crucial role in various astrophysical processes, including star formation, accretion of matter, transport processes (e.g., transport of heat), and cosmic rays. One of the easiest ways to determine the magnetic field…
Polarization of optical starlight and far-infrared thermal dust emission due to alignment of interstellar grains offers a powerful window to study magnetic fields in the various astrophysical environments, from the diffuse interstellar…
Most astrophysical systems, e.g. stellar winds, the diffuse interstellar medium, molecular clouds, are magnetized with magnetic fields that influence almost all of their properties. One of the most informative techniques of magnetic field…
One of the most informative techniques of studying magnetic fields in molecular clouds is based on the use of starlight polarization and polarized emission arising from aligned dust. How reliable the interpretation of the polarization maps…
Grain alignment theory has reached the stage where quantitative predictions of the degree of alignment and its variations with optical depth are possible. With the goal of studying the effect of clumpiness on the sub-millimeter and far…
Our aim is to study the polarization of thermal dust emission to see if the alignment of grain by radiative torques could explain the observed relation between the degree of polarization and the intensity in dense cores. Predictions are…
Grain alignment theory suggests that grains should be aligned in circumstellar regions and the observational data available supports this conclusion. We discuss the alignment of grains via (1) magnetic relaxation, (2) mechanical processes,…
Optical and infrared continuum polarization from the interstellar medium is known to generally be due to irregular dust grains aligned with the magnetic field. This provides an important tool to probe the geometry and strength of those…
Alignment of dust grains in astrophysical environments results in the polarization of starlight as well as the polarization of radiation emitted by dust. We demonstrate the advances in grain alignment theory allow the use of linear and…