Related papers: Alignment of suprathermally rotating grains
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 show that the energy-level splitting arising from grain rotation ensures that paramagnetic dissipation acts at its maximum rate, i.e., the conditions for paramagnetic resonance are automatically fulfilled. We refer to this process as…
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…
This paper gives a short summary of a mechanism of the enhanced paramagnetic relaxation that acts on rapidly rotating interstellar grains. We show that the Barnett magnetization that arises from grain rotation ensures that paramagnetic…
The recent detection of interstellar polarization in the solid CO feature near 4.67 micron shows that CO-mantled grains can be aligned in cold molecular clouds. These observations conflict with a theory of grain alignment which attributes…
Irregular dust grains are subject to radiative torques when irradiated by interstellar starlight. It is shown how these radiative torques may be calculated using the discrete dipole approximation. Calculations are carried out for one…
Aligned grains present a foreground for cosmic microwave emission studies. We review basic physical processes involved in grain alignment and discuss the niches for different alignment mechanisms. We show that mechanisms which were favored…
We calculate the relative grain-grain motions arising from interstellar magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. The MHD turbulence includes both fluid motions and magnetic fluctuations. While the fluid motions accelerate grains through…
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…
The radiative torque (RAT) alignment of interstellar grains with ordinary paramagnetic susceptibilities has been supported by earlier studies. The alignment of such grains depends on the so-called RAT parameter $q^{\max}$ that is determined…
Earlier studies of grain alignment dealt mostly with interstellar grains that have strong internal relaxation of energy which aligns grain axis of maximum moment of inertia with respect to grain's angular momentum. In this paper, we study…
Aligned non-spherical dust particles polarize starlight passing through the dust cloud. They also emit polarized far infrared and sub-mm radiation. Substantial progress in understanding of grain alignment theory makes the interpretation of…
The degree to which interstellar grains align with respect to the interstellar magnetic field depends on disaligning as well as aligning mechanisms. For decades, it was assumed that disalignment was due primarily to the random angular…
Grain alignment is a notoriously difficult problem, that is extremely rich in underlying physics. The long history of attempts theoretical handling of the problem resulted in rather sceptical approach to the theory on the part of some…
We study the physical processes inducing the alignment of the grain axis of maximum inertia moment with the angular momentum (${\bf J}$, i.e., internal alignment) and of ${\bf J}$ with the magnetic field (i.e., external alignment) of very…
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…
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…
We present extensive calculations on the efficiency of grain alignment by the Davis-Greenstein mechanism. We model the grains as oblate spheroids with arbitrary axis ratios. Our description of the grain dynamics includes (i) magnetic…
Dust grains drift through the interstellar medium (ISM) and are aligned with the magnetic field. Here we study the effect of grain alignment and grain motion on grain growth in molecular clouds (MCs). We first discuss the characteristic…
Recent (sub)millimeter polarization observations of protoplanetary disks reveal toroidally aligned, effectively prolate dust grains large enough (at least ~100 $\mu$m) to efficiently scatter millimeter light. The alignment mechanism for…