Measurement of Characteristics of Micron Size Individual Dust Particles of Astrophysical Interest
A laboratory facility for levitating single isolated dust particles in an electrodynamic balance has been developed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center for conducting studies of the physical and optical properties of the analogs of interstellar and interplanetary dust grains of 0.2-20 micron size under controlled pressures/temperatures simulating astrophysical environments. We plan three classes of experiments using this facility: (1) Charge characteristics of micron size single dust grains: The photoelectric efficiencies, yields, and equilibrium potentials when exposed to UV radiation found from these measurements will provide much-needed photoelectric emission data for individual dust particles; (2) Infrared optical properties of dust particles: Specifically, we will determines the complex refractive indices, the extinction coefficients, the scattering phase functions, and the polarization properties of single dust grains of interest in interstellar environments, in the 1- 25 micron spectral region; (3) Condensation experiments to investigate the deposition of volatile gases on colder nucleated particles in dense interstellar clouds and lower planetary atmospheres: The measured data will permit determination of the sticking efficiencies of volatile gases of astrophysical interest. Brief descriptions of the experimental setup for the last two classes of experiments will be given. We will present results of measurements of photoelectric emission using 0.2-6.6 micron size silica particles exposed to UV radiation at 120-200 nm and also results of radiation pressure measurements using the same size silica particles and laser light at 5320 Angstrom.