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CosTuuM : polarized thermal dust emission by magnetically oriented spheroidal grains

Bert Vandenbroucke (UGent) , Maarten Baes (UGent) and Peter Camps (UGent)
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Abstract
We present the new open-source C++-based Python library CosTuuMthat can be used to generate infrared absorption and emission coefficients for arbitrary mixtures of spheroidal dust grains that are (partially) aligned with a magnetic field. We outline the algorithms underlying the software, demonstrate the accuracy of our results using benchmarks from literature, and use our tool to investigate some commonly used approximative recipes. We find that the linear polarization fraction for a partially aligned dust grain mixture can be accurately represented by an appropriate linear combination of perfectly aligned grains and grains that are randomly oriented, but that the commonly used picket fence alignment breaks down for short wavelengths. We also find that for a fixed dust grain size, the absorption coefficients and linear polarization fraction for a realistic mixture of grains with various shapes cannot both be accurately represented by a single representative grain with a fixed shape, but that instead an average over an appropriate shape distribution should be used. Insufficient knowledge of an appropriate shape distribution is the main obstacle in obtaining accurate optical properties. CosTuuMis available as a standalone Python library and can be used to generate optical properties to be used in radiative transfer applications.
Keywords
Space and Planetary Science, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Magnetic fields, Interstellar dust, Polarimetry, Dust continuum emission, Radiative transfer simulations, T-MATRIX METHOD, RADIATIVE-TRANSFER, OPTICAL-PROPERTIES, ELECTROMAGNETIC SCATTERING, SIZE DISTRIBUTION, PARTICLES, EXTINCTION, GRAPHITE, IMPLEMENTATION, CAPABILITIES

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MLA
Vandenbroucke, Bert, et al. “CosTuuM : Polarized Thermal Dust Emission by Magnetically Oriented Spheroidal Grains.” ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL, vol. 160, no. 1, 2020, doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ab9cbd.
APA
Vandenbroucke, B., Baes, M., & Camps, P. (2020). CosTuuM : polarized thermal dust emission by magnetically oriented spheroidal grains. ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL, 160(1). https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ab9cbd
Chicago author-date
Vandenbroucke, Bert, Maarten Baes, and Peter Camps. 2020. “CosTuuM : Polarized Thermal Dust Emission by Magnetically Oriented Spheroidal Grains.” ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL 160 (1). https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ab9cbd.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Vandenbroucke, Bert, Maarten Baes, and Peter Camps. 2020. “CosTuuM : Polarized Thermal Dust Emission by Magnetically Oriented Spheroidal Grains.” ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL 160 (1). doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ab9cbd.
Vancouver
1.
Vandenbroucke B, Baes M, Camps P. CosTuuM : polarized thermal dust emission by magnetically oriented spheroidal grains. ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL. 2020;160(1).
IEEE
[1]
B. Vandenbroucke, M. Baes, and P. Camps, “CosTuuM : polarized thermal dust emission by magnetically oriented spheroidal grains,” ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL, vol. 160, no. 1, 2020.
@article{8687572,
  abstract     = {{We present the new open-source C++-based Python library CosTuuMthat can be used to generate infrared absorption and emission coefficients for arbitrary mixtures of spheroidal dust grains that are (partially) aligned with a magnetic field. We outline the algorithms underlying the software, demonstrate the accuracy of our results using benchmarks from literature, and use our tool to investigate some commonly used approximative recipes. We find that the linear polarization fraction for a partially aligned dust grain mixture can be accurately represented by an appropriate linear combination of perfectly aligned grains and grains that are randomly oriented, but that the commonly used picket fence alignment breaks down for short wavelengths. We also find that for a fixed dust grain size, the absorption coefficients and linear polarization fraction for a realistic mixture of grains with various shapes cannot both be accurately represented by a single representative grain with a fixed shape, but that instead an average over an appropriate shape distribution should be used. Insufficient knowledge of an appropriate shape distribution is the main obstacle in obtaining accurate optical properties. CosTuuMis available as a standalone Python library and can be used to generate optical properties to be used in radiative transfer applications.}},
  articleno    = {{55}},
  author       = {{Vandenbroucke, Bert and Baes, Maarten and Camps, Peter}},
  issn         = {{0004-6256}},
  journal      = {{ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL}},
  keywords     = {{Space and Planetary Science,Astronomy and Astrophysics,Magnetic fields,Interstellar dust,Polarimetry,Dust continuum emission,Radiative transfer simulations,T-MATRIX METHOD,RADIATIVE-TRANSFER,OPTICAL-PROPERTIES,ELECTROMAGNETIC SCATTERING,SIZE DISTRIBUTION,PARTICLES,EXTINCTION,GRAPHITE,IMPLEMENTATION,CAPABILITIES}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{19}},
  title        = {{CosTuuM : polarized thermal dust emission by magnetically oriented spheroidal grains}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ab9cbd}},
  volume       = {{160}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}

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