Related papers: Radiative Torques on Interstellar Grains: I. Super…
Interstellar dust grains can be spun up by radiative torques, and the resulting centrifugal force may be strong enough to disrupt large dust grains. We examine the effect of this rotational disruption on the evolution of grain size…
Context: The sizes of dust in the interstellar medium follows a distribution where most of the dust mass is in smaller grains. However, the re-distribution from larger grains towards smaller sizes especially by means of rotational…
Interstellar medium is turbulent and this induces relative motions of dust grains. We calculate relative velocities of charged grains in a partially ionized magnetized gas. We account for anisotropy of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence,…
Interstellar dust grains are often aligned. If the grain alignment direction varies along the line of sight, the thermal emission becomes circularly-polarized. In the diffuse interstellar medium, the circular polarization at far-infrared…
We investigate the rotational emission from dust grains that rotate around non- principal axes. We argue that in many phases of the interstellar medium, the smallest grains, which dominate spinning dust emission, are likely to have their…
Planck is expected to answer crucial questions on the early Universe, but it also provides further understanding on anomalous microwave emission. Electric dipole emission from spinning dust grains continues to be the favored interpretation…
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…
A significant fraction of main sequence stars observed interferometrically in the near infrared have slightly extended components that have been attributed to very hot dust. To match the spectrum appears to require the presence of large…
A model of spheroidal particles is used to calculate the steady-state temperature of dust grains immersed in the interstellar radiation field. It is found that the temperature of non-spherical grains with the aspect ratios a/b <= 2 deviates…
Dust is an essential component of the interstellar medium (ISM) and plays an important role in many different astrophysical processes and phenomena. Traditionally, dust grains are known to be destroyed by thermal sublimation, Coulomb…
We investigate the claim that the ratio {\beta} of radiation pressure force to gravitational force on a dust grain in our solar system can substantially exceed unity for some grain sizes, provided that grain porosity is high enough. For…
Reflection nebulae--dense cores--illuminated by surrounding stars offer a unique opportunity to directly test our quantitative model of grain alignment based on radiative torques (RATs) and to explore new effects arising from additional…
We introduce a possible disruption mechanism of dust grains in planet formation by their spinning motion. This mechanism has been discussed as rotational disruption for the interstellar dust grains. We theoretically calculate whether porous…
We consider grains with superparamagnetic inclusions and report two new condensed matter effects that can enhance the internal relaxation of the energy of a wobbling grain, namely, superparamagnetic Barnett relaxation, as well as, an…
Dusty disks around young stars are formed out of interstellar dust that consists of amorphous, submicrometre grains. Yet the grains found in comets and meteorites, and traced in the spectra of young stars, include large crystalline grains…
Modern understanding of dust astrophysics reveals that RAdiative Torques (RATs) arising from the radiation-dust interaction can induce two fundamental effects, including grain alignment and rotational disruption. Here we review the recent…
It has recently been shown that turbulence in the interstellar medium (ISM) can significantly accelerate the growth of dust grains by accretion of molecules, but the turbulent gas-density distribution also plays a crucial role in shaping…
Interstellar dust grain alignment causes polarization from UV to mm wavelengths, allowing the study of the geometry and strength of the magnetic field. Over last couple of decades observations and theory have led to the establishment of the…
Our current understanding of the physical conditions in the inner regions of protoplanetary discs is becoming increasingly challenged by the more detailed observational and theoretical explorations. Calculation of dust temperature is one of…
Dust polarization depends on the physical and mechanical properties of dust, as well as the properties of local environments. To understand how dust polarization varies with grain mechanical properties and the local environment, in this…