The alignment of interstellar grains

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (185) References (37) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS The Alignment of Interstellar Grains Mathis, J. S. Abstract The alignment of interstellar grains by superparamagnetic (SPM) inclusions is discussed. Observations require that the polarizing grains be a dielectric; it is assumed that these are silicates. It is also assumed that grains are conglomerations of individual particles, that some of the particles are SPM (as in the Orgueil meteorite), and that a grain is aligned if and only if it contains one or more SPM particles. With the particle size distribution constrained by fitting the extinction, the entire wavelength dependence law for average polarization is recovered with just one free parameter: the average size of a grain containing an SPM particle. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: September 1986 DOI: 10.1086/164499 Bibcode: 1986ApJ...308..281M Keywords: Dielectric Polarization; Interstellar Matter; Paramagnetism; Grain Size; Interplanetary Dust; Interstellar Extinction; Linear Polarization; Astrophysics; INTERSTELLAR: GRAINS; POLARIZATION full text sources ADS |