| |
 |
| Paper: |
Charging of Dust Grains |
| Volume: |
309, Astrophysics of Dust |
| Page: |
453 |
| Authors: |
Weingartner, J.C. |
| Abstract: |
Cosmic grains are subjected to various electrical charging mechanisms and the resulting non-zero grain charge has several important astrophysical consequences. I briefly discuss the various physical processes that can contribute to grain charging and describe a number of potential applications. Then, I focus on grain charging in HI regions, where the dominant charging processes are starlight-induced photoelectric emission and collisions with gas-phase electrons and ions. I discuss recent progress in the quantitative estimation of the charging rates and point out areas where improvements are needed. Finally, I discuss one important application, namely, grain-assisted electron-ion recombination. |
|
|
|
|
|
