Direct evidence of dust growth in L183 from MIR light scattering

Theoretical arguments suggest that dust grains should grow in the dense cold parts of molecular clouds. Evidence of larger grains has so far been gathered in near/mid infrared extinction and millimeter observations. Interpreting the data is, however, aggravated by the complex interplay of density and dust properties (as well as temperature for thermal emission). We present new Spitzer data of L183 in bands that are sensitive and insensitive to PAHs. The visual extinction AV map derived in a former paper was fitted by a series of 3D Gaussian distributions. For different dust models, we calculate the scattered MIR radiation images of structures that agree agree with the AV map and compare them to the Spitzer data. The Spitzer data of L183 show emission in the 3.6 and 4.5 micron bands, while the 5.8 micron band shows slight absorption. The emission layer of stochastically heated particles should coincide with the layer of strongest scattering of optical interstellar radiation, which is seen as an outer surface on I band images different from the emission region seen in the Spitzer images. Moreover, PAH emission is expected to strongly increase from 4.5 to 5.8 micron, which is not seen. Hence, we interpret this emission to be MIR cloudshine. Scattered light modeling when assuming interstellar medium dust grains without growth does not reproduce flux measurable by Spitzer. In contrast, models with grains growing with density yield images with a flux and pattern comparable to the Spitzer images in the bands 3.6, 4.5, and 8.0 micron.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Dust sublimation by GRBs and its implications

The prompt optical flash recently detected accompanying GRB990123 suggests that, for at least some GRBs, gamma-ray emission is accompanied by prompt optical-UV emission with luminosity L(1-7.5eV)=10^{49}(\Delta\Omega/4\pi)erg/s, where \Delta\Omega is the solid angle into which gamma-ray and optical-UV emission is beamed. Such an optical-UV flash can destroy dust in the beam by sublimation out to an appreciable distance, approximately 10 pc, and may clear the dust out of as much as 10^7(\Delta\Omega/4\pi)M_sun of molecular cloud material on an apparent time scale of 10 seconds. Detection of time dependent extinction on this time scale would therefore provide strong constraints on the GRB source environment. Dust destruction implies that existing, or future, observations of not-heavily-reddened fireballs are not inconsistent with GRBs being associated with star forming regions. In this case, however, if gamma-ray emission is highly beamed, the expanding fireball would become reddened on a 1 week time scale. If the optical depth due to dust beyond approximately 8 pc from the GRB is 0.2<\tau_V<2, most of the UV flash energy is converted to infra-red, \lambda \sim 1 micron, radiation with luminosity \sim 10^{41} erg/s extending over an apparent duration of \sim 20(1+z)(\Delta\Omega/0.01) day. Dust infra-red emission may already have been observed in GRB970228 and GRB980326, and may possibly explain their unusual late time behavior.Comment: 16 pages, including 1 figure, submitted to Ap

Perspectives on Interstellar Dust Inside and Outside of the Heliosphere

Measurements by dust detectors on interplanetary spacecraft appear to indicate a substantial flux of interstellar particles with masses exceeding 10^{-12}gram. The reported abundance of these massive grains cannot be typical of interstellar gas: it is incompatible with both interstellar elemental abundances and the observed extinction properties of the interstellar dust population. We discuss the likelihood that the Solar System is by chance located near an unusual concentration of massive grains and conclude that this is unlikely, unless dynamical processes in the ISM are responsible for such concentrations. Radiation pressure might conceivably drive large grains into "magnetic valleys". If the influx direction of interstellar gas and dust is varying on a ~10 yr timescale, as suggested by some observations, this would have dramatic implications for the small-scale structure of the interstellar medium.Comment: 13 pages. To appear in Space Science Review

The Discovery of Vibrationally-Excited H_2 in the Molecular Cloud near GRB 080607

GRB 080607 has provided the first strong observational signatures of molecular absorption bands toward any galaxy hosting a gamma-ray burst. Despite the identification of dozens of features as belonging to various atomic and molecular (H_2 and CO) carriers, many more absorption features remained unidentified. Here we report on a search among these features for absorption from vibrationally-excited H_2, a species that was predicted to be produced by the UV flash of a GRB impinging on a molecular cloud. Following a detailed comparison between our spectroscopy and static, as well as dynamic, models of H_2* absorption, we conclude that a column density of 10^{17.5+-0.2} cm^{-2} of H_2* was produced along the line of sight toward GRB 080607. Depending on the assumed amount of dust extinction between the molecular cloud and the GRB, the model distance between the two is found to be in the range 230--940 pc. Such a range is consistent with a conservative lower limit of 100 pc estimated from the presence of Mg I in the same data. These distances show that substantial molecular material is found within hundreds of pc from GRB 080607, part of the distribution of clouds within the GRB host galaxy.Comment: Submitted to ApJL, 6 pages emulate

Dust Emission from Evolved and Unevolved HII Regions in the Large Magellanic Cloud

We present a study of the dust properties of 12 classical and superbubble HII regions in the Large Magellanic Cloud. We use infrared photometry from Spitzer (8, 24, 70, and 160 \mum bands), obtained as part of the Surveying the Agents of a Galaxy's Evolution (SAGE) program, along with archival spectroscopic classifications of the ionizing stars to examine the role of stellar sources on dust heating and processing. Our infrared observations show surprisingly little correlation between the emission properties of the dust and the effective temperatures or bolometric magnitudes of stars in the HII regions, suggesting that the HII region evolutionary timescale is not on the order of the dust processing timescale. We find that the infrared emission of superbubbles and classical HII regions shows little differentiation between the two classes, despite the significant differences in age and morphology. We do detect a correlation of the 24 \mum emission from hot dust with the ratio of 70 to 160 \mum flux. This correlation can be modeled as a trend in the temperature of a minority hot dust component, while a majority of the dust remains significantly cooler.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures. Accepted to Ap

The extent of dust in NGC 891 from Herschel/SPIRE images

We analyse Herschel/SPIRE images of the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 891 at 250, 350 and 500 micron. Using a 3D radiative transfer model we confirm that the dust has a radial fall-off similar to the stellar disk. The dust disk shows a break at about 12 kpc from the center, where the profile becomes steeper. Beyond this break, emission can be traced up to 90% of the optical disk in the NE side. On the SW, we confirm dust emission associated with the extended, asymmetric HI disk, previously detected by the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). This emission is marginally consistent with the large diffuse dust disk inferred from radiative transfer fits to optical images. No excess emission is found above the plane beyond that of the thin, unresolved, disk.Comment: Letter accepted for publication in A&A; final version after shortening and language editin