Interstellar Dust Models Towards Some IUE Stars

Abstract

We study the extinction properties of composite dust grains, consisting of host silicate spheroids and graphite as inclusions, using discrete dipole approximation (DDA). We calculate the extinction cross sections of the composite grains in the ultraviolet spectral region, 1200–3200 Å, and study the variation in extinction as a function of the volume fraction of the inclusions. We compare the model extinction curves with the observed interstellar extinction curves obtained from the data given by the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite. Our results for the composite grains show a distinct variation in the extinction efficiencies with the variation in the volume fraction of the inclusions. In particular, it is found that the wavelength of peak absorption at 2175 Å shifts towards the longer wavelength with the variation in the volume fraction of inclusions. We find that the composite grain models with the axial ratios viz. 1.33 and 2.0 fit the observed extinction reasonably well with a grain size distribution, a = 0.005–0.250 μm. Moreover, our results on the composite grains clearly indicate that the inhomogeneity in the grain structure, composition, and the surrounding media modify the extinction properties of the grains.