Modeling Astrophysical Phenomena Involving Dust

Abstract

Infrared radiation is the primary tracer of the dust component in the universe. Dust grains, although a minor constituent, play a very important role in the thermodynamics and evolution of many astronomical objects, e.g., young and evolved stars, nebulae, interstellar clouds, and nuclei of some galaxies. In the past decade, significant progress has been made not only in the observations and laboratory simulation of cosmic dust, but also in the theoretical studies of phenomena involving dust grains, models with increasing degree of sophistication and physical realism have become available. In this tutorial I will review the physical concepts and methods in modeling phenomena involving cosmic dust: In particular, the following topics will be discussed:

• 1. Radiation transport modeling of infrared sources,

• 2. Extinction arid emission of fluffy fractal grains,

• 3. Transient heating and emission of very small dust grains,

• 4. Nucleation and growth of dust grains in outflows of evolved stars.

Where appropriate, recent modeling results are presented and observational implications emphasized. Directions for future research in these areas are also discussed.