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Dust populations in space plasmas are often described by a size distribution function, generally a power law distribution. In view of that, we include this feature in the kinetic description of a homogeneous magnetized dusty plasma with electrically charged immobile dust grains, in order to study its effects in the propagation and damping of Alfvén waves. The dispersion relation is numerically solved using parameters typically found in the dust-driven stellar winds of carbon-rich stars and in Earth's auroral acceleration region, two space systems with unalike plasma parameters and in which Alfvén waves are known to play important roles in the plasma acceleration and heating processes. We show that the characteristics of the normal modes, namely the ion cyclotron and whistler modes, will change when one considers a power law distribution of dust sizes in the theory, as compared to a mono-sized dust population; and that these differences will depend on the exponent p of the power law, which alters the plasma charge imbalance between electrons and ions. We also notice that power-law distribution functions will modify the waves' damping rate values. In particular, we show that in a stellar wind environment the ion cyclotron mode at very small wavenumber decreases with the reduction of p , while for higher wavenumber the damping of this mode increases with the reduction of p. For the Earth's magnetosphere, the results obtained show that the wave damping increases with the decrease of p for all wavenumbers, for the parameters considered in the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimation of the properties of the sublimation products leaving the cometary nucleus is one of the significant questions in the study of the dusty-gas flow following the Rosetta mission. It is widely assumed that the temperature of the water molecules emitted is the temperature of ice directly exposed to the surface. However, it is the simplest non-verified idealization if the refractory porous material lays on the surface and controls the energy driving the ice sublimation. This highly non-isothermal surface layer should change the vapour temperature as the molecules pass through it from the icy region to the vacuum. A key sustaining observation here comes from the MIRO experiment on Rosetta which measured the velocity of water vapour. The observed gas velocities are visibly higher than can be explained by emission at typical ice surface temperature. To investigate the issue, we simulate a gas flow through a non-isothermal porous dust layer and analyse the temperature of molecules emitted. Monodisperse and bimodal layers, as well as layers made of porous aggregates, are considered. Modelling is carried out for various porosity values, different particle sizes, and dust layer thicknesses. The simulation results are embedded in two-layer thermal models including the effective thermal conductivity, volumetric light absorption, and the resistance of the dust layer to the gas flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new approach to determining the dimensions of particles that can be lifted to a coma by the sublimation flux of water ice. Due to the diverse colour of the cometary surfaces, in the presented calculations we take into account the influence of the reflectance coefficient (hemispherical albedo) on the size of particles lifted from the surface of the nucleus. A Cary 5000 spectrometer was used to measure hemispherical albedo. Spectroscopic measurements used dust particles that consisted of pure silicate or were a mixture of pure silicate and organic compounds such as charcoal, soot, and ash. In addition, these admixtures acted as a means of darkening the tested sample. Depending on the colour of the sample and the wavelength, the measured value of hemispherical albedo oscillated in the range from 4.93 per cent to 48.65 per cent. A thermodynamic model of cometary matter emission was developed based on the results of hemispherical albedo measurements. The performed numerical simulations show that the temperature decreases with the increase of the hemispherical albedo, which translates into the sublimation flux and the dynamics of the dust-ice particles present on the surface of the cometary nucleus. Taking into account the extreme values of the hemispherical albedo, the differences in the size of particles carried away from the surface of the nucleus are in the order of centimeters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intermediate-luminosity red transients (ILRTs) are a class of observed transient posited to arise from the production of an electron-capture supernova from a super-asymptotic giant branch star within a dusty cocoon. In this paper, we present a systematic analysis of narrow Na  i D absorption as a means of probing the circumstellar environment of these events. We find a wide diversity of evolution in ILRTs in terms of line strength, time-scale, and shape. We present a simple toy model designed to predict this evolution as arising from ejecta from a central supernova passing through a circumstellar environment wherein Na  ii is recombining to Na  i over time. We find that while our toy model can qualitatively explain the evolution of a number of ILRTs, the majority of our sample undergoes evolution more complex than predicted. The success of using the Na  i D doublet as a diagnostic tool for studying circumstellar material will rely on the availability of regular high-resolution spectral observations of multiple ILRTs, and more detailed spectral modelling will be required to produce models capable of explaining the diverse range of behaviours exhibited by ILRTs. In addition, the strength of the Na  i D absorption feature has been used as a means of estimating the extinction of sources, and we suggest that the variability visible in ILRTs would prevent such methods from being used for this class of transient, and any others showing evidence of variability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic reconnection is prevalent in magnetized plasmas in space and laboratories. Despite significant investigations on reconnection in electron–ion plasmas, studies of reconnection in magnetized plasmas with negatively charged dust grains are quite sparse. Here, we report the first fully kinetic simulations of collisionless reconnection in a three-species (i.e. electron, proton, and negatively charged dust grain) dusty plasma, through which the discovery of double Hall pattern is made. The double Hall pattern consists of a traditional Hall quadruple current in between the ion and electron diffusion region and a reversed Hall current in between the boundary of the ion and dust diffusion region. The analysis of the reconnection rate is also given. This study may be applicable to explain observations of planetary magnetospheres and the astrophysical objects, and may be realized in the laboratory studies of dusty plasmas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young protostellar discs are likely to be both self-gravitating, and to support grain growth to sizes where the particles decoupled from the gas. This combination could lead to short-wavelength fragmentation of the solid component in otherwise non-fragmenting gas discs, forming Earth-mass solid cores during the Class 0/I stages of young stellar object evolution. We use three-dimensional smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations of two-fluid discs, in the regime where the Stokes number of the particles St > 1, to study how the formation of solid clumps depends on the disc-to-star mass ratio, the strength of gravitational instability, and the Stokes number. Gravitational instability of the simulated discs is sustained by local cooling. We find that the ability of the spiral structures to concentrate solids increases with the cooling time and decreases with the Stokes number, while the relative dynamical temperature between gas and dust of the particles decreases with the cooling time and the disc-to-star mass ratio and increases with the Stokes number. Dust collapse occurs in a subset of high disc mass simulations, yielding clumps whose mass is close to linear theory estimates, namely 1–10 M⊕. Our results suggest that if planet formation occurs via this mechanism, the best conditions correspond to near the end of the self-gravitating phase, when the cooling time is long and the Stokes number close to unity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by observations of localized electrostatic wavepackets by the Cassini – and (earlier) by Voyager 1 and 2 – mission(s) in Saturn's magnetosphere, we have investigated the existence conditions and the dynamical evolution of localized multidimensional structures in the Saturnian dusty plasma environment. To this effect, we have adopted a plasma-fluid model for dust-ion acoustic excitations, taking into account the presence of a highly energetic (suprathermal, kappa-distributed) electron population in combination with massive dust dust particulates in the background. A multiple scales perturbation method was shown to lead to a Davey--Stewartson (DS) system of evolution equations, if one assumes perpendicular carrier wave propagation across the magnetic field (direction). The system is then shown to possess two regimes mainly, known in the literature as DS-I and DS-II. In the former case, if certain conditions are fulfilled, exponentially localized solutions are obtained, known as dromions. The combined effects of various physical parameters, such as the electron spectral index, the ambient magnetic field (strength), and the dust concentration, have been examined. A numerical investigation reveals that the dromion amplitude increases with higher dust concentration, whereas it decreases for lower κ e (i.e. with an increase in the suprathermal electron population component). A stronger magnetic field results in higher amplitude but narrower dromions. Our results provide a comprehensive framework for modeling modulated electrostatic wavepackets, in direct comparison with experimental data in planetary environments, in Saturn's magnetosphere and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present 3D radiation-hydrodynamical (RHD) simulations of star cluster formation and evolution in massive, self-gravitating clouds, whose dust columns are optically thick to infrared (IR) photons. We use VETTAM – a recently developed, novel RHD algorithm, which uses the Variable Eddington Tensor closure – to model the IR radiation transport through the cloud. We also use realistic temperature (T) dependent IR opacities (κ) in our simulations, improving upon earlier works in this area, which used either constant IR opacities or simplified power laws (κ ∝  T 2). We investigate the impact of the radiation pressure of these IR photons on the star formation efficiency of the cloud, and its potential to drive dusty winds. We find that IR radiation pressure is unable to regulate star formation or prevent accretion on to the star clusters, even for very high gas surface densities (⁠|$\Sigma \gt 10^5 \, \mathrm{M}_{\odot } \, \mathrm{pc}^{-2}$|⁠), contrary to recent semi-analytic predictions and simulation results using simplified treatments of the dust opacity. We find that the commonly adopted simplifications of κ ∝  T 2 or constant κ for the IR dust opacities leads to this discrepancy, as those approximations overestimate the radiation force. By contrast, with realistic opacities that take into account the microphysics of the dust, we find that the impact of IR radiation pressure on star formation is very mild, even at significantly high dust-to-gas ratios (∼3 times solar), suggesting that it is unlikely to be an important feedback mechanism in controlling star formation in the ISM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent observations of substructures such as dust gaps and dust rings in protoplanetary discs have highlighted the importance of including dust into purely gaseous disc models. At the same time, computational difficulties arise with the standard models of simulating the dust and gas separately. These include the cost of accurately simulating the interactions between well-coupled dust and gas and issues of dust concentration in areas below resolution of the gas phase. We test a single-fluid approach that incorporates the terminal velocity approximation valid for small particles, which can overcome these difficulties, through modification of FARGO3D. We compare this single-fluid model with a multifluid model for a variety of planet masses. We find differences in the dust density distribution in all cases. For high-mass, gap-opening planets, we find differences in the amplitude of the resulting dust rings, which we attribute to the failure of the terminal velocity approximation around shocks. For low-mass planets, both models agree everywhere except in the corotation region, where the terminal velocity approximation shows overdense dust lobes. We tentatively interpret these as dusty equivalents of thermal lobes seen in non-isothermal simulations with thermal diffusion, but more work is necessary to confirm this. At the same resolution, the computational time for the terminal velocity approximation model is significantly less than a two-fluid model. We conclude that the terminal velocity approximation is a valuable tool for modelling a protoplanetary disc, but care should be taken when shocks are involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we investigate the characteristics of the group velocity of obliquely propagating Alfvén waves in a dusty plasma typical of a stellar wind. The dispersion relation is derived with the aid of the kinetic theory for a magnetized dusty plasma consisting of electrons and ions, with distribution of momenta described by a Maxwellian function. The dust particles are considered to be immobile and have all the same size; they are electrically charged by absorption of plasma particles via inelastic collisions and by photoionization. We numerically solve the dispersion relation and calculate the components of group velocity (along and transverse to the magnetic field) for the normal modes, namely the compressional and shear Alfvén waves (CAW and SAW). The results show that the direction of the group velocity of CAWs is greatly modified with the wave-vector direction. On the other hand, SAWs will present group velocity propagating practically along the magnetic field. The changes in dust parameters, such as number density and equilibrium electrical charge, may significantly change the waves' characteristics. It is seen that for sufficiently high dust to ion number density ratio, the SAWs may present perpendicular group velocity propagating in opposite direction to the perpendicular phase velocity, in a small interval of wavenumber values; we also notice that this interval may change, or even vanish, when the flux of radiation incident on the dust is altered, changing the equilibrium electrical charge of the grains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The physical properties of galaxies are encoded within their spectral energy distribution and require comparison with models to be extracted. These models must contain a synthetic stellar population and, where infrared data are to be used, also consider prescriptions for energy reprocessing and re-emission by dust. While many such models have been constructed, there are few analyses of the impact of stellar population model choice on derived dust parameters, or vice versa. Here, we apply a simple framework to compare the impact of these choices, combining three commonly used stellar population synthesis models and three dust emission models. We compare fits to the ultraviolet to far-infrared spectral energy distributions of a validation sample of infrared-luminous galaxies. We find that including different physics, such as binary stellar evolution, in the stellar synthesis model can introduce biases and uncertainties in the derived parameters of the dust and stellar emission models, largely due to differences in the far-ultraviolet emission available for reprocessing. This may help to reconcile the discrepancy between the cosmic star formation rate and stellar mass density histories. Notably the inclusion of a dusty stellar birth cloud component in the dust emission model provides more flexibility in accommodating the stellar population model, as its re-emission is highly sensitive to the ultraviolet radiation field spectrum and density. Binary populations favour a longer birth cloud dissipation time-scale than is found when assuming only single star population synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by observations of localized electrostatic wavepackets by the Voyager 1 and 2 and Cassini missions in Saturn's magnetosphere, we have investigated the evolution of modulated electrostatic wavepackets in a dusty plasma environment. The well-known dust-ion acoustic (DIA) mode was selected to explore the dynamics of multidimensional structures, by means of a Davey–Stewartson (DS) model, by taking into account the presence of a highly energetic (suprathermal, kappa-distributed) electron population in combination with heavy (immobile) dust in the background. The modulational (in)stability profile of DIA wavepackets for both negative as well as positive dust charge is investigated. A set of explicit criteria for modulational instability (MI) to occur is obtained. Wavepacket modulation properties in 3D dusty plasmas are shown to differ from e.g. Maxwellian plasmas in 1D. Stronger negative dust concentration results in a narrower instability window in the K (perturbation wavenumber) domain and to a suppressed growth rate. In the opposite manner, the instability growth rate increases for higher positive dust concentration and the instability window gets larger. In a nutshell, negative dust seems to suppress instability while positive dust appears to favour the amplitude modulation instability mechanism. Finally, stronger deviation from the Maxwell–Boltzmann equilibrium, i.e. smaller κ e values, lead(s) to stronger instability growth in a wider wavenumber window – hence suprathermal electrons favour MI regardless of the dust charge sign (i.e. for either positive or negative dust). The wavepacket modulation properties in 2D dusty plasmas thus differ from e.g. Maxwellian plasmas in 1D, both quantitatively and qualitatively, as indicated by a generalized dispersion relation explicitly derived in this paper (for the amplitude perturbation). Our results can be compared against existing experimental data in space, especially in Saturn's magnetosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The characteristics of Alfvén waves propagating in a direction oblique to the ambient magnetic field in a stellar wind environment are discussed. A kinetic formulation for a magnetized dusty plasma is adopted considering Maxwellian distributions of electrons and ions, and immobile dust particles electrically charged by absorption of plasma particles and by photoionization. The dispersion relation is numerically solved and the results are compared with situations previously studied where dust particles were not charged by photoionization, which is an important process in a stellar wind of a relatively hot star. We show that the presence of dust causes the shear Alfvén waves to present a region of wavenumber values with zero frequency and that the minimum wavelength for which the mode becomes dispersive again is roughly proportional to the radiation intensity to which the dust grains are exposed. The damping rates of both shear and compressional Alfvén waves are observed to decrease with increasing radiation flux, for the parameters considered. For the particular case where both modes present a region with null real frequency when the radiation flux is absent or weak, it is shown that when the radiation flux is sufficiently strong, the photoionization mechanism may cause this region to get smaller or even to vanish, for compressional Alfvén waves. In that case, the compressional Alfvén waves present non-zero frequency for all wavenumber values, while the shear Alfvén waves still present null frequency in a certain interval of wavenumber values, which gets smaller with the presence of radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The charging of fine particles within the photoelectron cloud is the key in characterizing the dusty plasma environment over sunlit locations. In this work, based on the statistical mechanics and charging kinetics of the floating dust particles within the photoelectron sheath over the sunlit lunar surface, the distribution of charge over floating particles has been investigated. The natural randomisation of the dust charging currents, the anisotropy in sheath photoelectron population and electric field/potential, and half Fermi–Dirac velocity distribution of the emitted photoelectrons have been consistently accounted for in the formulation. In this framework, due to natural fluctuation, the charge on the floating dust particles is shown to be distributed over a wide range (∼100 e). This random fluctuation in charge might alter the static equilibrium of the floating dust particles and induce an altitudinal fluctuation (∼10 %) about its mean position within the sheath. The concept and results suggest that the natural fluctuation of the dust charge could be a reason that the strict dust levitation under static force equilibrium is less likely to exhibit over the sunlit lunar surfaces. This effect of dust charge and subsequent altitudinal fluctuations have been found pronounced at larger latitudes (near the terminator region) and higher lunar altitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study radiation pressure due to Ly α line photons, obtaining and exploring analytical expressions for the force-multiplier, M F(N H, Z) = F α/(L α/ c), as a function of gas column density, N H, and metallicity, Z , for both dust-free and dusty media, employing a WKB approach for the latter case. Solutions for frequency offset emission to emulate non-static media moving with a bulk velocity v have also been obtained. We find that, in static media, Ly α pressure dominates over both photoionization and dust-mediated UV radiation pressure in a very wide parameter range (16 < log  N H < 23; −4 < log [ Z / Z ⊙] < 0). For example, it overwhelms the other two forces by |$\lower.5ex\hbox{$\,\, \buildrel\gt \over \sim \,\,$}10$| (300) times in standard (low- Z) star-forming clouds. Thus, in agreement with previous studies, we conclude that Ly α pressure plays a dominant role in the initial acceleration of the gas around luminous sources, and must be implemented in galaxy formation, evolution and outflow models and simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photoelectron sheath and floating fine positively charged dust particles constitute two-component dusty plasma in the sunlit lunar regolith's vicinity. By including the charge fluctuation into photoelectron–dust dynamics, the lunar exospheric plasma is proposed to support the propagation of long-wavelength dust acoustic (DA) modes. Using the standard approach based on the dynamical equations for continuity, momentum, plasma potential, and dust charging along with Fowler's treatment of photoemission and non-Maxwellian nature of the sheath photoelectrons, the wave dispersion is derived. The dust charge variation modifies the usual DA wave dispersion and excites the ultralow frequency modes that propagate with sufficiently low phase speed. Such ultralow frequency modes are predicted as pronounced for smaller values of dust charge and sheath potential. The DA wave dispersion is also depicted as sensitive to the photoelectrons' energy distribution within the sheath. The quantitative estimates suggest that the nominal exospheric plasma may exhibit DA waves propagating with frequencies of the order of unity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stellar bow shocks, bow waves, and dust waves all result from the action of a star's wind and radiation pressure on a stream of dusty plasma that flows past it. The dust in these bows emits prominently at mid-infrared wavelengths in the range 8 to   60  |$\mu$| m. We propose a novel diagnostic method, the τ–η diagram, for analysing these bows, which is based on comparing the fractions of stellar radiative energy and stellar radiative momentum that is trapped by the bow shell. This diagram allows the discrimination of wind-supported bow shocks, radiation-supported bow waves, and dust waves in which grains decouple from the gas. For the wind-supported bow shocks, it allows the stellar wind mass-loss rate to be determined. We critically compare our method with a previous method that has been proposed for determining wind mass-loss rates from bow shock observations. This comparison points to ways in which both methods can be improved and suggests a downward revision by a factor of two with respect to previously reported mass-loss rates. From a sample of 23 mid-infrared bow-shaped sources, we identify at least four strong candidates for radiation-supported bow waves, which need to be confirmed by more detailed studies, but no strong candidates for dust waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dust waves and bow waves result from the action of a star's radiation pressure on a stream of dusty plasma that flows past it. They are an alternative mechanism to hydrodynamic bow shocks for explaining the curved arcs of infrared emission seen around some stars. When gas and grains are perfectly coupled, for a broad class of stellar parameters, wind-supported bow shocks predominate when the ambient density is below |$100\, \mathrm{cm}^{-3}$|⁠. At higher densities radiation-supported bow shells can form, tending to be optically thin bow waves around B stars, or optically thick bow shocks around early O stars. For OB stars with particularly weak stellar winds, radiation-supported bow shells become more prevalent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complete three-dimensional structure of the magnetic field within molecular clouds has eluded determination despite its high value in determining controlling factors in the star formation process, as it cannot be directly probed observationally. Considering that inclination of the magnetic field relative to the plane of sky is one of the major sources of depolarization of thermal emission from dust in molecular clouds, we propose here a new method to estimate the inclination angle of the cloud-scale magnetic field based on the statistical properties of the observed polarization fraction. We test this method using a series of Monte Carlo experiments and find that the method works well, provided that deviations of magnetic field direction from the averaged values are small. When applied to synthetic observations of numerical simulations of star-forming clouds, our method gives fairly accurate measurements of the mean magnetic field inclination angle (within 10°–25°), which can further be improved if we restrict our technique to regions of low dispersion in polarization angles |${\cal S}$|⁠. We tested our method on the BLASTPol polarimetric observations of the Vela C molecular cloud complex, which suggests that the magnetic field of Vela C has a high inclination angle (∼60°), consistent with previous analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We derive the single-fluid evolution equations describing a mixture made of a gas phase and an arbitrary number of dust phases, generalizing the approach developed by Laibe & Price. A generalization for continuous dust distributions as well as analytic approximations for strong drag regimes is also provided. This formalism lays the foundation for numerical simulations of dust populations in a wide range of astrophysical systems while avoiding limitations associated with a multiple-fluid treatment. The usefulness of the formalism is illustrated on a series of analytical problems, namely the dustybox, dustyshock and dustywave problems as well as the radial drift of grains and the streaming instability in protoplanetary discs. We find physical effects specific to the presence of several dust phases and multiple drag time-scales, including non-monotonic evolution of the differential velocity between phases and increased efficiency of the linear growth of the streaming instability. Interestingly, it is found that under certain conditions, large grains can migrate outwards in protoplanetary discs. This may explain the presence of small pebbles at several hundreds of astronomical units from their central star. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The Wolf-Rayet (WR) binary CV Serpentis (= WR113, WC8d + O8-9IV) has been a source of mystery since it was shown that its atmospheric eclipses change with time over decades, in addition to its sporadic dust production. The first high-precision time-dependent photometric observations obtained with the Microvariability and Oscillations of STars ( MOST) space telescope in 2009 show two consecutive eclipses over the 29-d orbit, with varying depths. A subsequent MOST run in 2010 showed a seemingly asymmetric eclipse profile. In order to help make sense of these observations, parallel optical spectroscopy was obtained from the Mont Megantic Observatory (2009, 2010) and from the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (2009). Assuming these depth variations are entirely due to electron scattering in a β-law wind, an unprecedented 62 per cent increase in [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We investigate the properties (e.g. star formation rate, dust attenuation, stellar mass and metallicity) of a sample of infrared (IR) luminous galaxies at z ∼ 1 via near-IR spectroscopy with Subaru-FMOS. Our sample consists of Herschel SPIRE and Spitzer MIPS selected sources in the COSMOS field with photometric redshifts in the range of 0.7 < zphot < 1.8, which have been targeted in two pointings (0.5 deg2) with FMOS. We find a modest success rate for emission-line detections, with candidate Hα emission lines detected for 57 of 168 SPIRE sources (34 per cent). By stacking the near-IR spectra we directly measure the mean Balmer decrement for the Hα and Hβ lines, finding a value of 〈 E( B − V)〉 = 0.51 ± 0.27 for 〈 LIR〉 = 1012 L⊙ sources at 〈 z〉 = 1.36. By comparing star formation rates estimated from the IR and from the dust-uncorrected Hα line we find a strong relationship between dust attenuation and star formation rate. This relation is broadly consistent with that previously seen in star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 0.1. Finally, we investigate the metallicity via the N2 ratio, finding that z ∼ 1 IR-selected sources are indistinguishable from the local mass-metallicity relation. We also find a strong correlation between dust attenuation and metallicity, with the most metal-rich IR sources experiencing the largest levels of dust attenuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This work concerns the physical properties of very faint (= 28 AB mag; Mstars,lim∼ 108 M⊙), ultraviolet-selected (UV-selected) sub- L* BX galaxies at z∼ 2.3. Stellar masses, dust content and dust-corrected star formation rates are constrained using broad-band spectral energy distribution fitting, resulting in a number of insights into the nature of these low-mass systems. First, a correlation between rest-frame UV luminosity and galaxy stellar mass appears to exist in BX galaxies and its presence suggests that many sub- L* galaxies at this redshift may have approximately constant, rather than highly variable, star formation histories. A nearly-linear relation between stellar mass and star formation rate is also found, hinting that the rate at which a sub- L* BX galaxy forms its stars is directly related to the mass of stars that it has already formed. A possible explanation for this phenomenon lies in a scenario in which new gas that falls on to the galaxy's host halo along with accreting dark matter is the main source of fuel for ongoing star formation. The instantaneous efficiency of star formation is low in this scenario, of the order of 1 per cent. Turning to bulk quantities, it is found that the low-mass end of the stellar mass function at z∼ 2.3 is steeper than expected from extrapolations of shallower surveys, resulting in a stellar mass density at z∼ 2.3 that is ∼25 per cent of the present-day value; this value is ∼1.5-2 times higher than that given by extrapolations of most of the shallower surveys, suggesting that the build-up of stellar mass in the Universe has proceeded somewhat more rapidly than previously thought. With spectral energy distribution fitting results in hand, an update to the Keck Deep Fields z∼ 2 UV luminosity function finds a steeper faint-end slope than previously reported, α=− 1.47, though this is not as steep as that found by Reddy & Steidel. Finally, it is also found that sub- L* galaxies at z∼ 2 carry very small amounts of dust compared to their more luminous cousins, so that while only ∼20 per cent of 1700-Å photons escape from a typical M* galaxy, more than half make it out of an M*+3 one. This paucity of dust highlights the fact that sub- L* galaxies are not simple scaled copies of their more luminous cousins. Assuming that absorption by neutral hydrogen is not stronger in sub- L* galaxies than in their more luminous counterparts, it also means that sub- L* galaxies are important contributors to keeping the Universe ionized at z∼ 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT In a companion paper, we have presented an algorithm for simulating two-fluid gas and dust mixtures in smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH). In this paper, we develop an implicit timestepping method that preserves the exact conservation of the both linear and angular momenta in the underlying SPH algorithm, but unlike previous schemes, allows the iterations to converge to arbitrary accuracy and is suited to the treatment of non-linear drag regimes. The algorithm presented in Paper I is also extended to deal with realistic astrophysical drag regimes, including both linear and non-linear Epstein and Stokes drag. The scheme is benchmarked against the test suite presented in Paper I, including (i) the analytic solutions of the dustybox problem and (ii) solutions of the dustywave, dustyshock, dustysedov and dustydisc obtained with explicit timestepping. We find that the implicit method is 1-10 times faster than the explicit temporal integration when the ratio r between the timestep and the drag stopping time is 1 ≲ r≲ 1000. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We present a detailed analysis of two fields located 26 kpc (∼5 radial scalelengths) from the centre of M31 along the south-west semimajor axis of the disc. One field samples the major axis populations - the Outer Disc field - while the other is offset by ∼18 arcmin and samples the warp in the stellar disc - the warp field. The colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) based on Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys imaging reach old main-sequence turn-offs (∼12.5 Gyr). We apply the CMD-fitting technique to the warp field to reconstruct the star formation history (SFH). We find that after undergoing roughly constant star formation until about 4.5 Gyr ago, there was a rapid decline in activity and then a ∼1.5 Gyr lull, followed by a strong burst lasting 1.5 Gyr and responsible for 25 per cent of the total stellar mass in this field. This burst appears to be accompanied by a decline in global metallicity which could be a signature of the inflow of metal-poor gas. The onset of the burst (∼3 Gyr ago) corresponds to the last close passage of M31 and M33 as predicted by detailed N-body modelling, and may have been triggered by this event. We reprocess the deep M33 outer disc field data of Barker et al. in order to compare consistently derived SFHs. This reveals a similar duration burst that is exactly coeval with that seen in the M31 warp field, lending further support to the interaction hypothesis. We reliably trace star formation as far back as 12-13 Gyr ago in the outer disc of M31, while the onset of star formation occurred about 2 Gyr later in M33, with median stellar ages of 7.5 and 4.5 Gyr, respectively. The complex SFHs derived, as well as the smoothly varying age-metallicity relations, suggest that the stellar populations observed in the far outer discs of both galaxies have largely formed in situ rather than migrated from smaller galactocentric radii. The strong differential reddening affecting the CMD of the Outer Disc field prevents derivation of the SFH using the same method. Instead, we quantify this reddening and find that the fine-scale distribution of dust precisely follows that of the H i gas. This indicates that the outer H i disc of M31 contains a substantial amount of dust and therefore suggests significant metal enrichment in these parts, consistent with inferences from our CMD analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We present a study of the radial distribution of dust species in young brown dwarf discs. Our work is based on a compositional analysis of the 10 and 20 μm silicate emission features for brown dwarfs in the Taurus-Auriga star-forming region. A fundamental finding of our work is that brown dwarfs exhibit stronger signs of dust processing in the cold component of the disc, compared to the higher mass T Tauri stars in Taurus. For nearly all of our targets, we find a flat disc structure, which is consistent with the stronger signs of dust processing observed in these discs. For the case of one brown dwarf, 2M04230607, we find the forsterite mass fraction to be a factor of ∼3 higher in the outer disc compared to the inner disc region. Simple large-scale radial mixing cannot account for this gradient in the dust chemical composition, and some local crystalline formation mechanism may be effective in this disc. The relatively high abundance of crystalline silicates in the outer cold regions of brown dwarf discs provides an interesting analogy to comets. In this context, we have discussed the applicability of the various mechanisms that have been proposed for comets on the formation and the outward transport of high-temperature material. We also present Chandra X-ray observations for two Taurus brown dwarfs, 2M04414825 and CFHT-BD-Tau 9. We find 2M04414825, which has an ∼12 per cent crystalline mass fraction, to be more than an order of magnitude brighter in X-ray than CFHT-BD-Tau 9, which has an ∼35 per cent crystalline mass fraction. Combining with previous X-ray data, we find the inner disc crystalline mass fractions to be anti-correlated with the X-ray strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We present infrared photometry of the WC8 Wolf-Rayet system WR 48a observed with telescopes at the European Southern Observatory, the South African Astronomical Observatory and the Anglo Australian Telescope between 1982 and 2011, which show a slow decline in dust emission from the previously reported outburst in 1978-79 until about 1997, when significant dust emission was still evident. This was followed by a slow rise, accelerating to reach and overtake the first (1978) photometry, demonstrating that the outburst observed in 1978-79 was not an isolated event, but that they recur at intervals of 32+ years. This suggests that WR 48a is a long-period dust maker and colliding-wind binary. The locus of WR 48a in the ( H− L), K colour-magnitude diagram implies that the rate of dust formation fell between 1979 and about 1997 and then increased steadily until 2011. Superimposed on the long-term variation are secondary ('mini') eruptions in (at least) 1990, 1994, 1997, 1999 and 2004, characteristic of relatively brief episodes of additional dust formation. Spectra show evidence for an Oe or Be companion to the WC8 star, supporting the suggestion that WR 48a is a binary system and indicating a system luminosity consistent with the association of WR 48a and the young star clusters Danks 1 and Danks 2. The range of dust formation suggests that these stars are in an elliptical orbit having e∼ 0.6. The size of the orbit implied by the minimum period, together with the WC wind velocity and likely mass-loss rate, implies that the post-shock WC wind is adiabatic throughout the orbit - at odds with the observed dust formation. A similar conflict is observed in the 'pinwheel' dust-maker WR 112. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We present a new algorithm for simulating two-fluid gas and dust mixtures in smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH), systematically addressing a number of key issues including the generalized SPH density estimate in multifluid systems, the consistent treatment of variable smoothing-length terms, finite particle size, timestep stability, thermal coupling terms and the choice of kernel and smoothing length used in the drag operator. We find that using double-hump-shaped kernels improves the accuracy of the drag interpolation by a factor of several hundred compared to the use of standard SPH bell-shaped kernels, at no additional computational expense. In order to benchmark our algorithm, we have developed a comprehensive suite of standardized, simple test problems for gas and dust mixtures: dustybox, dustywave, dustyshock, dustysedov and dustydisc, the first three of which have known analytic solutions. We present the validation of our algorithm against all of these tests. In doing so, we show that the spatial resolution criterion Δ≲ cs ts is a necessary condition in all gas+dust codes that becomes critical at high drag (i.e. small stopping time ts) in order to correctly predict the dynamics. Implicit timestepping and the implementation of realistic astrophysical drag regimes are addressed in a companion paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT In ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), ions and electrons are both tied to the magnetic field. The Hall effect arises in a plasma when electrons are able to drift with the magnetic field but ions cannot. In this case, the generalized Ohm law is modified, and it affects the ideal MHD equations. In this paper, we study thermal instability in molecular clouds, when it is affected by ambipolar and Hall diffusion and charged dust particles. For this purpose, we include their effects in the equations of weakly ionized molecular clouds. By using a linear perturbation method, we investigate the thermal instability of the system. In this way, we obtain a non-dimensional seventh-degree characteristic equation, which, in the absence of a magnetic field, leads to the prior characteristic equations. From a numerical manipulation of the characteristic equation, we conclude that the thermal instability allows compression along the magnetic field when the effects of both ambipolar and Hall diffusion are considered. Moreover, when the effect of Hall diffusion is increased, there is a compression at θ=π/4, where θ is angle between the magnetic field and the wave vector of perturbation. We also derive some new critical wavelengths that separate the spatial ranges of stability and instability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We present a detailed analysis of two fields located 26 kpc (∼5 radial scalelengths) from the centre of M31 along the south-west semimajor axis of the disc. One field samples the major axis populations - the Outer Disc field - while the other is offset by ∼18 arcmin and samples the warp in the stellar disc - the warp field. The colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) based on Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys imaging reach old main-sequence turn-offs (∼12.5 Gyr). We apply the CMD-fitting technique to the warp field to reconstruct the star formation history (SFH). We find that after undergoing roughly constant star formation until about 4.5 Gyr ago, there was a rapid decline in activity and then a ∼1.5 Gyr lull, followed by a strong burst lasting 1.5 Gyr and responsible for 25 per cent of the total stellar mass in this field. This burst appears to be accompanied by a decline in global metallicity which could be a signature of the inflow of metal-poor gas. The onset of the burst (∼3 Gyr ago) corresponds to the last close passage of M31 and M33 as predicted by detailed N-body modelling, and may have been triggered by this event. We reprocess the deep M33 outer disc field data of Barker et al. in order to compare consistently derived SFHs. This reveals a similar duration burst that is exactly coeval with that seen in the M31 warp field, lending further support to the interaction hypothesis. We reliably trace star formation as far back as 12-13 Gyr ago in the outer disc of M31, while the onset of star formation occurred about 2 Gyr later in M33, with median stellar ages of 7.5 and 4.5 Gyr, respectively. The complex SFHs derived, as well as the smoothly varying age-metallicity relations, suggest that the stellar populations observed in the far outer discs of both galaxies have largely formed in situ rather than migrated from smaller galactocentric radii. The strong differential reddening affecting the CMD of the Outer Disc field prevents derivation of the SFH using the same method. Instead, we quantify this reddening and find that the fine-scale distribution of dust precisely follows that of the H i gas. This indicates that the outer H i disc of M31 contains a substantial amount of dust and therefore suggests significant metal enrichment in these parts, consistent with inferences from our CMD analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We present infrared photometry of the WC8 Wolf-Rayet system WR 48a observed with telescopes at the European Southern Observatory, the South African Astronomical Observatory and the Anglo Australian Telescope between 1982 and 2011, which show a slow decline in dust emission from the previously reported outburst in 1978-79 until about 1997, when significant dust emission was still evident. This was followed by a slow rise, accelerating to reach and overtake the first (1978) photometry, demonstrating that the outburst observed in 1978-79 was not an isolated event, but that they recur at intervals of 32+ years. This suggests that WR 48a is a long-period dust maker and colliding-wind binary. The locus of WR 48a in the ( H− L), K colour-magnitude diagram implies that the rate of dust formation fell between 1979 and about 1997 and then increased steadily until 2011. Superimposed on the long-term variation are secondary ('mini') eruptions in (at least) 1990, 1994, 1997, 1999 and 2004, characteristic of relatively brief episodes of additional dust formation. Spectra show evidence for an Oe or Be companion to the WC8 star, supporting the suggestion that WR 48a is a binary system and indicating a system luminosity consistent with the association of WR 48a and the young star clusters Danks 1 and Danks 2. The range of dust formation suggests that these stars are in an elliptical orbit having e∼ 0.6. The size of the orbit implied by the minimum period, together with the WC wind velocity and likely mass-loss rate, implies that the post-shock WC wind is adiabatic throughout the orbit - at odds with the observed dust formation. A similar conflict is observed in the 'pinwheel' dust-maker WR 112. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We present a detailed investigation of the near-infrared to far-infrared (near-IR to far-IR) spectral energy distribution (SED) of a large sample of Spitzer-observed active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We fitted the spectra of 51 narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s) and 64 broad-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (BLS1s) using a three-component model: a clumpy torus, a dusty narrow-line region and hot pure-graphite dust located in the outer part of the broad-line region (BLR). The fitting was performed on star formation (SF) subtracted SEDs using SF templates that take into account the entire range of possible host galaxy properties. We find that the mid-IR intrinsic emission of NLS1s and BLS1s is very similar, regardless of the AGN luminosity, with long-wavelength downturn at around 20-25 μm. We present a detailed model of the hot-dust component that takes into account the distribution of dust temperature within the clouds and their emission-line spectrum. The hot-dust continuum provides a very good fit to the observed near-IR continuum spectrum. Most line emission in this component is dramatically suppressed, except Mg ii λ2798 and He i lines that are still contributing significantly to the total BLR spectrum. We calculate the covering factors (CFs) of all the AGN components and show that the CF of the hot-dust clouds is about 0.15-0.35, similar to the CF of the torus, and is anticorrelated with the source luminosity and the normalized accretion rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We present the dust properties and star formation histories of local submillimetre-selected galaxies, classified by optical morphology. Most of the galaxies are late types and very few are early types. The early-type galaxies (ETGs) that are detected contain as much dust as typical spirals, and form a unique sample that has been blindly selected at submillimetre wavelengths. Additionally, we investigate the properties of the most passive, dusty spirals. We morphologically classify 1087 galaxies detected in the Herschel-Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS) Science Demonstration Phase data. Comparing to a control sample of optically selected galaxies, we find 5.5 per cent of luminous ETGs are detected in H-ATLAS. The H-ATLAS ETGs contain a significant mass of cold dust: the mean dust mass is 5.5 × 107 M⊙, with individual galaxies ranging from 9 × 105 to 4 × 108 M⊙. This is comparable to that of spiral galaxies in our sample, and is an order of magnitude more dust than that found for the control early-types, which have a median dust mass inferred from stacking of (0.8-4.0) × 106 M⊙ for a cold dust temperature of 25-15 K. The early-types detected in H-ATLAS tend to have bluer NUV − r colours, higher specific star formation rates and younger stellar populations than early-types which are optically selected, and may be transitioning from the blue cloud to the red sequence. We also find that H-ATLAS and control early-types inhabit similar low-density environments. We investigate whether the observed dust in H-ATLAS early-types is from evolved stars, or has been acquired from external sources through interactions and mergers. We conclude that the dust in H-ATLAS and control ETGs cannot be solely from stellar sources, and a large contribution from dust formed in the interstellar medium or external sources is required. Alternatively, dust destruction may not be as efficient as predicted. We also explore the properties of the most passive spiral galaxies in our sample with specific star formation rate (SSFR) < 10−11 yr−1. We find these passive spirals have lower dust-to-stellar mass ratios, higher stellar masses and older stellar population ages than normal spirals. The passive spirals inhabit low-density environments similar to those of the normal spiral galaxies in our sample. This shows that the processes which turn spirals passive do not occur solely in the intermediate-density environments of group and cluster outskirts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The accretion efficiency for individual black holes is very difficult to determine accurately. There are many factors that can influence each step of the calculation, such as the dust and host galaxy contribution to the observed luminosity, the black hole mass and more importantly the uncertainties on the bolometric luminosity measurement. Ideally, we would measure the active galactic nuclei (AGNs) emission at every wavelength, remove the host galaxy and dust, reconstruct the AGN spectral energy distribution and integrate them to determine the intrinsic emission and the accretion rate. In reality, this is not possible due to observational limitations and our own galaxy line-of-sight obscuration. We have then to infer the bolometric luminosity from spectral measurements made in discontinuous wavebands and at different epochs. In this paper, we tackle this issue by exploring different methods to determine the bolometric luminosity. We first explore the trend of accretion efficiency with black hole mass (ε ∝ M∼0.5) found in recent work by Davis & Laor and discuss why this is most likely an artefact of the parameter space covered by their Palomar-Green quasar sample. We then target small samples of AGNs at different redshifts, luminosities and black hole masses to investigate the possible methods to calculate the accretion efficiency. For these sources we are able to determine the mass accretion rate and, with some assumptions, the accretion efficiency distributions. Even though we select the sources for which we are able to determine the parameters more accurately, there are still factors affecting the measurements that are hard to constrain. We suggest methods to overcome these problems based on contemporaneous multiwavelength data measurements and specifically targeted observations for AGNs in different black hole mass ranges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We use Spitzer Space Telescope and Herschel Space Observatory far-infrared data along with ground-based optical and near-infrared data to understand how dust heating in the nearby face-on spiral galaxies M81, M83 and NGC 2403 is affected by the starlight from all stars and by the radiation from star-forming regions. We find that 70/160 m surface brightness ratios tend to be more strongly influenced by star-forming regions. However, the 250/350 m and 350/500 m surface brightness ratios are more strongly affected by the light from the total stellar populations, suggesting that the dust emission at >250 m originates predominantly from a component that is colder than the dust seen at <160 m and that is relatively unaffected by star formation activity. We conclude by discussing the implications of this for modelling the spectral energy distributions of both nearby and more distant galaxies and for using far-infrared dust emission to trace star formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Interstellar dust grains are responsible for modifying the spectral energy distribution (SED) of galaxies, both absorbing starlight at ultraviolet and optical wavelengths and converting this energy into thermal emission in the infrared (IR). The detailed description of these phenomena is of fundamental importance in order to compare the predictions of theoretical models of galaxy formation and evolution with the most recent observations in the IR region. In this paper we compare the results of grasil, a code explicitly solving for the equation of radiative transfer in a dusty medium, with the predictions of a variety of IR template libraries, both analytically and observationally determined. We employ star formation history samples extracted from the semi-analytical galaxy formation model morgana to create libraries of synthetic SEDs from the near- to the far-IR. We consider model predictions at different redshift ranges to explore any possible influence in the shape and normalization of the SEDs due to the expected evolution of the galaxy properties. We compute the total absorbed starlight predicted by grasil at optical wavelengths to statistically compare the synthetic SEDs with the selected IR templates. We show that synthetic SEDs at a given total IR luminosity are predicted to be systematically different at different redshifts and for different properties of the underlying model galaxy. However, we determine spectral regions where the agreement between the results of radiative transfer and IR templates is good in a statistical sense (i.e. in terms of the luminosity functions). Moreover, we highlight some potentially relevant discrepancies between the different approaches, both in the region dominated by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emission and at submm wavelengths. These results determine potentially critical issues in the IR luminosity functions as predicted by semi-analytical models coupled with different IR flux estimators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We explore the microwave anisotropies on large angular scales produced by the emission from cold and large dust grains, expected to exist in the outer parts of the Solar system, using a simple toy model for this diffuse emission. Its amplitude is constrained in the far-IR by the COBE data and is compatible with simulations found in the literature. We analyse the templates derived after subtracting our model from the WMAP ILC 7-yr maps and investigate on the cosmological implications of such a possible foreground. The anomalies related to the low quadrupole of the angular power spectrum, the two-point correlation function, the parity and the excess of signal found in the ecliptic plane are significantly alleviated. An impact of this foreground on some cosmological parameters characterizing the spectrum of primordial density perturbations, relevant for on-going and future cosmic microwave background anisotropy experiments, is found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The density profiles of cool envelopes of young planetary nebulae (PNe) are reminiscent of the final asymptotic giant branch (AGB) outflow history of the central star, so far as these have not yet been transformed by the hot wind and radiation of the central star. Obviously, the evolution of the mass loss rate of that dust-driven, cool wind of the former giant in its final AGB stages must have shaped these envelopes to some extent. Less clear is the impact of changes in the outflow velocity. Certainly, larger and fast changes would lead to significant complications in the reconstruction of the mass-loss history from a cool envelope's density profile. Here, we analyse the outflow velocity vexp in a consistent set of over 50 carbon-rich, dust-driven and well 'saturated' wind models, and how it depends on basic stellar parameters. We find a relation of the kind of vexp∝ ( L/ M)0.6. By contrast to the vast changes of the mass-loss rate in the final outflow phase, this relation suggests only very modest variations in the wind velocity, even during a thermal pulse. Hence, we conclude that the density profiles of cool envelopes around young PNe should indeed compare relatively well with their recent mass-loss history, when diluted plainly by the equation of continuity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BSTRACT We use multiwavelength data from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) and Herschel-ATLAS (H-ATLAS) surveys to compare the relationship between various dust obscuration measures in galaxies. We explore the connections between the ultraviolet (UV) spectral slope, β, the Balmer decrement and the far-infrared (FIR) to 150 nm far-ultraviolet (FUV) luminosity ratio. We explore trends with galaxy mass, star formation rate (SFR) and redshift in order to identify possible systematics in these various measures. We reiterate the finding of other authors that there is a large scatter between the Balmer decrement and the β parameter, and that β may be poorly constrained when derived from only two broad passbands in the UV. We also emphasize that FUV-derived SFRs, corrected for dust obscuration using β, will be overestimated unless a modified relation between β and the attenuation factor is used. Even in the optimum case, the resulting SFRs have a significant scatter, well over an order of magnitude. While there is a stronger correlation between the IR-to-FUV luminosity ratio and β parameter than with the Balmer decrement, neither of these correlations are particularly tight, and dust corrections based on β for high-redshift galaxy SFRs must be treated with caution. We conclude with a description of the extent to which the different obscuration measures are consistent with each other as well as the effects of including other galactic properties on these correlations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the role of thermal fluctuations and of the finite number of monomers in small clusters of carbon atoms on the nucleation rate of carbonaceous grains. Thermal fluctuations are due to the quantized nature of the energy exchanges between the clusters, the gas and the radiation field. Nanoscale effects modify the spontaneous detachment of monomers due to the finite amount of internal energy contained in small clusters. We find that both corrections have a big impact on the stability of the clusters and on the rate of nucleation. We implement our model within a Monte Carlo code to derive the new stability conditions for clusters as well as nucleation rates. Due to computing limitations, we can explore the consequences of this approach only at high temperatures, at which particle interactions are not much less frequent than photon interactions. We found that the combined effect of the detachment correction and the temperature fluctuations produces faster nucleation. We also found that the nucleation rate depends on the composition of the gas and not only on the partial pressure of the compound that condensates into grains. This is a unique result of this model that can be used to prove or disprove it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a time-dependent multifluid, magnetohydrodynamic code, we calculated the structure of steady perpendicular and oblique C-type shocks in dusty plasmas. We included relevant processes to describe mass transfer between the different fluids, radiative cooling by emission lines and grain charging, and studied the effect of single- and multiple-sized grains on the shock structure. Our models are the first of oblique fast-mode molecular shocks in which such a rigorous treatment of the dust grain dynamics has been combined with a self-consistent calculation of the thermal and ionization structures including appropriate microphysics. At low densities, the grains do not play any significant rôle in the shock dynamics. At high densities, the ionization fraction is sufficiently low that dust grains are important charge and current carriers and, thus, determine the shock structure. We find that the magnetic field in the shock front has a significant rotation out of the initial upstream plane. This is most pronounced for single-sized grains and small angles of the shock normal with the magnetic field. Our results are similar to previous studies of steady C-type shocks showing that our method is efficient, rigorous and robust. Unlike the method employed in the previous most detailed treatment of dust in steady oblique fast-mode shocks, ours allow a reliable calculation even when chemical or other conditions deviate from local statistical equilibrium. We are also able to model transient phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]