Related papers: Interstellar dust revealed by light from cosmic da…
Observations of quasar absorption systems relevant for studies of star formation at redshift 2 </= z </= 4 are briefly reviewed. Emphasis is given on the role played by dust in our understanding of the star formation history of galaxies…
Dark matter (DM) in protostellar halos can dramatically alter the current theoretical framework for the formation of the first stars. Heat from supersymmetric DM annihilation can overwhelm any cooling mechanism, consequently impeding the…
We review the development of dust science from the first ground-based astronomical observations of dust in space to compositional analysis of individual dust particles and their source objects. A multitude of observational techniques is…
We explore the possibility of planet formation in the carbon-rich protoplanetary disks of carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars, possible relics of the early Universe. The chemically anomalous abundance patterns ([C/Fe] $\geq$ 0.7) in…
We review the observational evidence for dust formation in Wolf-Rayet binary systems and in Type II Supernova ejecta. Existing theoretical models describing the condensation of solids in carbon-rich Wolf-Rayet stars and in Supernovae close…
We present a model using the evolution of the stellar population in a starburst galaxy to predict the crystallinity of the silicates in the interstellar medium of this galaxy. We take into account dust production in stellar ejecta, and…
The smallest dwarf galaxies are the most straight forward objects in which to study star formation processes on a galactic scale. They are typically single cell star forming entities, and as small potentials in orbit around a much larger…
Early-type galaxies from CfA catalogue were assotiated with IRAS FSC sources. In given sample IR and optical properties were used to obtain some classification of these objects. The existance of significant classes can be evidence of…
Cool luminous giants, in particular asymptotic giant branch stars, are among the most important sources of cosmic dust. Their extended dynamical atmospheres are places where grains form and initiate outflows driven by radiation pressure,…
We are living in a dusty universe: dust is ubiquitously seen in a wide variety of astrophysical environments, ranging from circumstellar envelopes around cool red giants to supernova ejecta, from diffuse and dense interstellar clouds and…
The interstellar thick disks of galaxies contain not only gas, but significant quantities of dust. Most of our knowledge of extraplanar dust in disk galaxies comes from direct broadband optical imaging of these systems, wherein the dust is…
The abundance evolution of interstellar dust species originating from stellar sources and from condensation in molecular clouds in the local interstellar medium of the Milky Way is studied and the input of dust material to the Solar System…
Over the past few decades, a consensus picture has emerged in which roughly a quarter of the universe consists of dark matter. I begin with a review of the observational evidence for the existence of dark matter: rotation curves of…
The Dark Age is the period between the time when the cosmic microwave background was emitted and the time when the evolution of structure in the universe led to the gravitational collapse of objects in which the first stars were formed. The…
Astronomical observations and analysis of stardust isolated from meteorites have revealed a highly diverse interstellar and circumstellar grain inventory, including a wide range of amorphous materials and crystalline compounds (silicates…
In the interstellar medium of the Milky Way, certain elements -- e.g., Mg, Si, Al, Ca, Ti, Fe -- reside predominantly in interstellar dust grains. These grains absorb, scatter, and emit electromagnetic radiation, heat the interstellar…
Interstellar dust grains efficiently absorb and scatter UV and optical radiation in galaxies, and therefore can significantly affect the apparent structure of spiral galaxies. We discuss the effect of dust attenuation on the observed…
Except in a few cases cosmic dust can be studied in situ or in terrestrial laboratories, essentially all of our information concerning the nature of cosmic dust depends upon its interaction with electromagnetic radiation. This chapter…
The first stars fundamentally transformed the early universe by emitting the first light and by producing the first heavy elements. These effects were predetermined by the mass distribution of the first stars, which is thought to have been…
Observations suggest that high-redshift galaxies are either very dusty or essentially dust free. The evolution from one regime to the other must also be very fast, since evolved and dusty galaxies show up at redshifts corresponding to a…