Experimental Phase Functions of Millimeter-sized Cosmic Dust Grains

We present the experimental phase functions of three types of millimeter-sized dust grains consisting of enstatite, quartz, and volcanic material from Mount Etna, respectively. The three grains present similar sizes but different absorbing properties. The measurements are performed at 527 nm coverin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Astrophysical journal Vol. 846; no. 1; pp. 85 - 92
Main Authors Muñoz, O., Moreno, F., Vargas-Martín, F., Guirado, D., Escobar-Cerezo, J., Min, M., Hovenier, J. W.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Philadelphia The American Astronomical Society 01.09.2017
IOP Publishing
Subjects
Astrophysics
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
BACKSCATTERING
COMETS
comets: general
COSMIC DUST
Dust
dust, extinction
ENSTATITE
Grains
POLARIZATION
protoplanetary disks
PROTOPLANETS
QUARTZ
scattering
Scattering angle
SIMULATION
SPACE
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Summary:We present the experimental phase functions of three types of millimeter-sized dust grains consisting of enstatite, quartz, and volcanic material from Mount Etna, respectively. The three grains present similar sizes but different absorbing properties. The measurements are performed at 527 nm covering the scattering angle range from 3° to 170°. The measured phase functions show two well-defined regions: (i) soft forward peaks and (ii) a continuous increase with the scattering angle at side- and back-scattering regions. This behavior at side- and back-scattering regions is in agreement with the observed phase functions of the Fomalhaut and HR 4796A dust rings. Further computations and measurements (including polarization) for millimeter-sized grains are needed to draw some conclusions about the fluffy or compact structure of the dust grains.
Bibliography:AAS05264
Instrumentation, Software, Laboratory Astrophysics, and Data
ISSN:0004-637X
1538-4357
DOI:10.3847/1538-4357/aa7ff2