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Scattering by Dust in Planetary Nebulae: Polarization as a Diagnostic Tool

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 May 2016

J. R. Walsh  and
L. Walsh
J. R. Walsh
Affiliation:
Space Telescope European Co-ordinating Facility, European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild Strasse 2, D-85748 Garching, Germany
L. Walsh
Affiliation:
Radiobiological Institute, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Schiller Strasse 42, D-80336 Munich, Germany

Extract

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There is a wealth of evidence for the presence of dust in PN from continuum and line emission in the IR, spatially varying extinction and ERE emission in the optical and strength of resonance lines in the UV. The dust emits strongly in the IR but in the UV-optical absorbs and scatters the radiation from the central star and the gaseous emission envelope. Linear polarization of PN light is thus an expected consequence of the presence of dust both within and outside the ionized region. Intrinsic scattering haloes of PN can be confused with local (telescope + atmospheric) scattering; polarimetry however allows the morphology of a dusty halo to be studied. Spectropolarimetry of emission line profiles allows the kinematics of the dust relative to the gaseous emission to be uniquely studied. Polarization contributes to understanding the scattering properties of the grains in PN and how they relate to those of the general ISM to which they will subsequently contribute.

Type
Part V: Dust and Molecules in Planetary Nebulae
Information
Symposium - International Astronomical Union , Volume 209: Planetary Nebulae: Their Evolution and Role in the Universe , 2003 , pp. 321 - 322
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 2003 

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