ISOobservations of 3-200 μm emission by three dust populations in an isolated local translucent cloud

Abstract

We present isophot spectrophotometry of three positions within the isolated high-latitude cirrus cloud G 300.2−16.8, spanning from the near- to far-infrared (NIR to FIR). The positions exhibit contrasting emission spectrum contributions from the unidentified infrared bands (UIBs), very small grains (VSGs) and large classical grains, and both semi-empirical and numerical models are presented. At all three positions, the UIB spectrum shapes are found to be similar and the large grain emission may be fitted by an equilibrium temperature of ∼17.5 K. The energy requirements of both the observed emission spectrum and optical scattered light are shown to be satisfied by the incident local interstellar radiation field (ISRF). The FIR emissivity of dust in G 300.2−16.8 is found to be lower than in globules or dense clouds and is even lower than model predictions for dust in the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM). The results suggest physical differences in the ISM mixtures between positions within the cloud, possibly arising from grain coagulation processes.