Related papers: Pixie Dust: The Silicate Features in the Diffuse I…
We have studied the dust along the line-of-sight towards the Galactic Center using Short Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) data obtained with the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). We focussed on the wavelength region from 8-13 micron which is…
The 9.7$\mu$m interstellar spectral feature, arising from the Si--O stretch of amorphous silicate dust, is the strongest extinction feature in the infrared (IR). In principle, the spectral profile of this feature could allow one to diagnose…
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…
The 9.7$\mu m$ and 18$\mu m$ interstellar spectral features, arising from the Si--O stretching and O--Si--O bending mode of amorphous silicate dust, are the strongest extinction feature in the infrared. Here we use the "pair method" to…
We present evidence of a >10-sigma detection of the 10 micron silicate dust absorption feature in the spectrum of the gravitationally lensed quasar PKS 1830-211, produced by a foreground absorption system at redshift 0.886. We have examined…
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…
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…
The 9.7-micron silicate absorption profile in the interstellar medium provides important information on the physical and chemical composition of interstellar dust grains. Measurements in the Milky Way have shown that the profile in the…
We present results from a mini-survey of dust spectral features arising in galaxies at redshifts $0.5 < z < 1.2$ in our James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) mid-infrared spectra of physically-unrelated background quasars. We analyze the JWST…
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…
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…
The abundance of both amorphous and crystalline silicates in very small grains is limited by the fact that the 10 micron silicate emission feature is not detected in the diffuse ISM. On the basis of the observed IR emission spectrum for the…
An accurate knowledge of the mineralogy (chemical composition and crystal structure) of the silicate dust in the interstellar medium (ISM) is crucial for understanding its origin in evolved stars, the physical and chemical processing in the…
We report the detection of interstellar silicate dust in the z_abs=0.685 absorber along the sightline toward the gravitationally lensed blazar TXS 0218+357. Using Spitzer Space Telescope Infrared Spectrograph data we detect the 10 micron…
How dust scatters and absorbs starlight in the interstellar medium (ISM) contains important clues about the size and composition of interstellar dust. While the ultraviolet (UV) and visible interstellar extinction is well studied and can be…
We interpret the interstellar extinction observed towards the Galactic Center (GC) in the wavelength range $\lambda = 1 - 20\,\mkm$. Its main feature is the flat extinction at $3 - 8\,\mkm$ whose explanation is still a problem for the…
Studying the composition of dust in the interstellar medium (ISM) is crucial in understanding the cycle of dust in our galaxy. The mid-infrared spectral signature of amorphous silicates, the most abundant dust species in the ISM, is studied…
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…
Observationally, both the 3.4micron aliphatic hydrocarbon C--H stretching absorption feature and the 9.7micron amorphous silicate Si--O stretching absorption feature show considerable variations from the local diffuse interstellar medium…
We study the absorption and scattering of X-ray radiation by interstellar dust particles, which allows us to access the physical and chemical properties of dust. The interstellar dust composition is not well understood, especially on the…