Interstellar dust close to the Sun

Fe b 20 03 WHY STUDY INTERSTELLAR MATTER VERY CLOSE TO THE SUN ?

Interstellar matter (ISM) sets the boundary conditions of the heliosphere and dominates the inter-planetary medium. The heliosphere configuration has varied over recent history, as the Sun emerged from the Local Bubble and entered a turbulent outflow of cloudlets originating from the Scorpius-Centaurus Association direction. Several indicators suggest that the local interstellar magnetic field ...

Interstellar Dust

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 medium by photoelectric emission, play a role in the ionization balance of the gas, and catalyze the formation of molecules, particularly H2. I review the state of ...

Interstellar Dust Grains

This review surveys the observed properties of interstellar dust grains: the wavelength-dependent extinction of starlight, including absorption features, from UV to infrared; optical luminescence; infrared emission; microwave emission; optical, UV, and X-ray scattering by dust; and polarization of starlight and of infrared emission. The relationship between presolar grains in meteorites and the...

The Sun ’ S Dust Disk

Infrared Emission from Interstellar Dust. Ii. the Diffuse Interstellar Medium

We present a quantitative model for the infrared emission from dust in the di†use interstellar medium. The model consists of a mixture of amorphous silicate grains and carbonaceous grains, each with a wide size distribution ranging from molecules containing tens of atoms to large grains km in diameter. Z1 We assume that the carbonaceous grains have properties like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbo...