Abstract
Scattering and absorption properties at optical and ultraviolet wavelengths are calculated for an inter-stellar dust model consisting of carbonaceous grains and amorphous silicate grains. Polarization as a function of scattering angle is calculated for selected wavelengths from the infrared to the vacuum ultraviolet. The widely used Henyey-Greenstein phase function provides a good approximation for the scattering phase function at wavelengths between ∼0.4 and 1 μm but fails to fit the calculated phase functions at shorter and longer wavelengths. A new analytic phase function is presented. It is exact at long wavelengths and provides a good fit to the numerically calculated phase function for λ > 0.27 μm. Observational determinations of the scattering albedo and 〈cos θ〉 show considerable disagreement, especially in the ultraviolet. Possible reasons for this are discussed.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1017-1025 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Astrophysical Journal |
| Volume | 598 |
| Issue number | 2 I |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 1 2003 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Space and Planetary Science
Keywords
- Dust, extinction
- Polarization
- Scattering
- Ultraviolet: ISM