Related papers: Radiative Torques on Interstellar Grains: II. Grai…
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…
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…
Since the classical work by Purcell (1979) it has been generally accepted that most interstellar grains rotate suprathermally. Suprathermally rotating grains would be nearly perfectly aligned with the magnetic field by paramagnetic…
The radiative torque (RAT) mechanism is the most promising way of explaining observed polarization arising from aligned grains. We explore the efficiency of the grain alignment by an anisotropic radiation flow for an extensive ensemble of…
Nanometer- and micrometer-sized solid particles play an important role in the evolutionary cycle of stars and interstellar matter. The optical properties of cosmic grains determine the interaction of the radiation field with the solids,…
Context. Planck observations demonstrated that the grain alignment efficiency is almost constant in the diffuse ISM. Aims. We test if the Radiative Torque (RAT) theory is compatible with observational constraints on grain alignment.…
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…
In interstellar dust grains, internal processes dissipate rotational kinetic energy. The dissipation is accompanied by thermal fluctuations, which transfer energy from the vibrational modes to rotation. Together, these processes are known…
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…
Nine lectures reviewing the astrophysics of dust in interstellar clouds. Topics include: (1) Summary of observational evidence concerning interstellar dust: broadband extinction, scattering of starlight, polarization of starlight,…
We study the stability of charged dust grains orbiting a planet and subject to gravity and the electromagnetic force. Our numerical models cover a broad range of launch distances from the planetary surface to beyond synchronous orbit, and…
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…
The interaction between settling of dust grains and magnetorotational instability (MRI) turbulence in protoplanetary disks is analyzed. We use a reduced system of coupled ordinary differential equations to represent the interaction between…
Thermal dust continuum polarimetry is a powerful indirect probe of magnetic field geometry in dense molecular clouds while at the same time providing information on the alignment of dust grains with the magnetic field. The leading theory of…
We investigate the combined effect of solar wind, Poynting-Robertson drag, and the frozen-in interplanetary magnetic field on the motion of charged dust grains in our solar system. For this reason we derive a secular theory of motion by the…
Dust and ice mantles on dust grains play an important role in various processes in protoplanetary disks (PPDs) around a young star, including planetesimal formation, surface chemistry, and being the reservoir of water in habitable zones. In…
Rigorous statistical numerical analysis of the response of a nonspherical dust particle ensemble composed of aggregates of astronomical silicate is presented. It is found that the rotational disruption mechanism is not only likely to occur…
Radiation pressure on dust is thought to play a crucial role in the formation process of massive stars by acting against gravitational collapse onto the central protostar. However, dust properties in dense regions irradiated by the intense…
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…
A systematic torque from anisotropic radiation can rapidly spin up irregular grains to the point of breakup. We apply the standard theory of rotational disruption from radiative torques to solar system grains, finding that grains with radii…