Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2002-04-23
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
45 pages (no figures/tables), an invited review article to appear in ``Solid State Astrochemistry'', ed. V. Pirronello & J. Kr
Scientific paper
The past century of interstellar dust has brought us from first ignoring it to finding that it is an important component of the interstellar medium and plays an important role in the evolution of galaxies, the formation of stars and planetary systems, and possibly, the origins of life. Current observational results in our galaxy provide a complex physical and chemical evolutionary picture of interstellar dust starting with the formation of small refractory particles in stellar atmospheres to their modification in diffuse and molecular clouds and ultimately to their contribution to star forming regions. In this review, a brief history of the studies of interstellar dust is presented. Our current understanding of the physical and chemical properties of interstellar dust are summarized, based on observational evidences from interstellar extinction, absorption, scattering, polarization, emission (luminescence, infrared vibrational emission, and microwave rotational emission), interstellar depletions, and theoretical modelling. Some unsolved outstanding problems are listed.
Greenberg Mayo J.
Li Aigen
No associations
LandOfFree
In Dust We Trust: An Overview of Observations and Theories of Interstellar Dust does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with In Dust We Trust: An Overview of Observations and Theories of Interstellar Dust, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and In Dust We Trust: An Overview of Observations and Theories of Interstellar Dust will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-508