Optical properties of cosmic dust analogs: A review

Nanometer- and micrometer-sized solid particles play an important role in the evolutionary cycle of stars and interstellar matter. The optical properties of cosmic grains determine the interaction of the radiation field with the solids, thereby regulating the temperature structure and spectral appearance of dusty regions. Radiation pressure on dust grains and their collisions with the gas atoms and molecules can drive powerful winds. The analysis of observed spectral features, especially in the infrared wavelength range, provides important information on grain size, composition and structure as well as temperature and spatial distribution of the material. The relevant optical data for interstellar, circumstellar, and protoplanetary grains can be obtained by measurements on cosmic dust analogs in the laboratory or can be calculated from grain models based on optical constants. Both approaches have made progress in the last years, triggered by the need to interpret increasingly detailed high-quality astronomical observations. The statistical theoretical approach, spectroscopic experiments at variable temperature and absorption spectroscopy of aerosol particulates play an important role for the successful application of the data in dust astrophysics.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, invited review for Journal of Nanophotonics, Special Section to honour C.F. Bohre

Optical constants of refractory oxides at high temperatures

Many cosmic dust species, among them refractory oxides, form at temperatures higher than 300 K. Nevertheless, most astrophysical studies are based on the room-temperature optical constants of solids, such as corundum and spinel. A more realistic approach is needed for these materials, especially in the context of modeling late-type stars. We aimed at deriving sets of optical constants of selected, astrophysically relevant oxide dust species with high melting points. A high-temperature-high-pressure-cell and a Fourier-transform spectrometer were used to measure reflectance spectra of polished samples. For corundum (alpha-Al$_2$O$_3$), spinel (MgAl$_2$O$_4$), and alpha-quartz (SiO$_2$), temperature-dependent optical constants were measured from 300 K up to more than 900 K. Small particle spectra were also calculated from these data. All three examined oxides show a significant temperature dependence of their mid-IR bands. For the case of corundum, we find that the 13$\mu$m emission feature - seen in the IR spectra of many AGB stars - can very well be assigned to this mineral species. The best fit of the feature is achieved with oblate corundum grains at mean temperatures around 550 K. Spinel remains a viable carrier of the 13$\mu$m feature as well, but only for T < 300 K and nearly spherical grain shapes. Under such circumstances, spinel grains may also account for the 31.8$\mu$m band that is frequently seen in sources of the 13$\mu$m feature and which has not yet been identified with certainty.Comment: Astronomy & Astrophysics, accepted, 26 February 2013. Article with 18 pages and 15 figure

How can heat maps of indexing vocabularies be utilized for information seeking purposes?

The ability to browse an information space in a structured way by exploiting similarities and dissimilarities between information objects is crucial for knowledge discovery. Knowledge maps use visualizations to gain insights into the structure of large-scale information spaces, but are still far away from being applicable for searching. The paper proposes a use case for enhancing search term recommendations by heat map visualizations of co-word relation-ships taken from indexing vocabulary. By contrasting areas of different "heat" the user is enabled to indicate mainstream areas of the field in question more easily.Comment: URL workshop proceedings: http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1311

Reconsidering the origin of the 21 micron feature: Oxides in carbon-rich PPNe?

The origin of the so-called "21 micron" feature which is especially prominent in the spectra of some carbon-rich protoplanetary nebulae (PPNe}) is the matter of a lively debate. A large number of potential band carriers have been presented and discarded within the past decade. The present paper gives an overview of the problems related to the hitherto proposed feature identifications, including the recently suggested candidate carrier silicon carbide. We also discuss the case for spectroscopically promising oxides. SiC is shown to produce a strong resonance band at 20-21 micron if coated by a layer of silicon dioxide. At low temperatures, core-mantle particles composed of SiC and amorphous SiO$_2$ indeed have their strongest spectral signature at a position of 20.1 micron, which coincides with the position of the "21 micron" emission band. The optical constants of another candidate carrier that has been relatively neglected so far -- iron monoxide -- are proven to permit a fairly accurate reproduction of the "21 micron" feature profile as well, especially when low-temperature measurements of the infrared properties of FeO are taken into account. As candidate carrier of the "21 micron" emission band, FeO has the advantage of being stable against further oxidation and reduction only in a narrow range of chemical and physical conditions, coinciding with the fact that the feature, too, is detected in a small group of objects only. However, it is unclear how FeO should form or survive particularly in carbon-rich PPNe.Comment: 28 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ (December

Carbonates in space - The challenge of low temperature data

Carbonates have repeatedly been discussed as possible carriers of stardust emission bands. However, the band assignments proposed so far were mainly based on room temperature powder transmission spectra of the respective minerals. Since very cold calcite grains have been claimed to be present in protostars and in Planetary Nebulae such as NGC 6302, the changes of their dielectric functions at low temperatures are relevant from an astronomical point of view. We have derived the IR optical constants of calcite and dolomite from reflectance spectra - measured at 300, 200, 100 and 10K - and calculated small particle spectra for different grain shapes, with the following results: i) The absorption efficiency factors both of calcite and dolomite are extremely dependent on the particle shapes. This is due to the high peak values of the optical constants of CaCO3 and CaMg[CO3]2. ii) The far infrared properties of calcite and dolomite depend also very significantly on the temperature. Below 200K, a pronounced sharpening and increase in the band strengths of the FIR resonances occurs. iii) In view of the intrinsic strength and sharpening of the 44 mum band of calcite at 200-100K, the absence of this band -- inferred from Infrared Space Observatory data -- in PNe requires dust temperatures below 45K. iv) Calcite grains at such low temperatures can account for the '92' mum band, while our data rule out dolomite as the carrier of the 60-65 mum band. The optical constants here presented are publicly available in the electronic database http://www.astro.uni-jena.de/Laboratory/OCDBComment: 20 pages, 10 figures, accepted by ApJ, corrected typo