Modelling the dust emission of a filament in the Taurus molecular cloud

Abstract

Context. Dust emission is an important tool in studies of star-forming clouds as a tracer of column density. This is done indirectly via the dust evolution that is connected to the history and physical conditions of the clouds. Aims. We examine the radiative transfer (RT) modelling of dust emission over an extended cloud region, using a filament in the Taurus molecular cloud as an example. We examine how well far-infrared (FIR) observations can be used to determine both the cloud and the dust properties. Methods. Using different assumptions on the cloud shape, radiation field, and dust properties, we fit RT models to Herschel observations of the Taurus filament. We made further comparisons with measurements of the near-infrared extinction. The models were used to examine the degeneracies between the different cloud parameters and the dust properties. Results. The results show a significant dependence on the assumed cloud structure and the spectral shape of the external radiation field. If these are constrained to the most likely values, the observations can be explained only if the dust FIR opacity has increased by a factor of 2–3 relative to the values in diffuse medium. However, a narrow range of FIR wavelengths provides only weak evidence of the spatial variations in dust, even in the models covering several square degrees of a molecular cloud. Conclusions. The analysis of FIR dust emission is affected by several sources of uncertainty. Further constraints are therefore needed from observations at shorter wavelengths, especially with respect to trends in dust evolution.