Scattering properties of protoplanetary dust analogs with microwave analogy: Rough compact grains

¹ Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, Centrale Med, Institut Fresnel, Marseille, France
e-mail: amelie.litman@fresnel.fr
² Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAG, 38000 Grenoble, France
³ LPC2E, Université d’Orléans, CNRS, Orléans, France

Received: 21 July 2023
Accepted: 20 May 2024

Abstract

Context. Scattering simulations of perfect spheres are not sufficient to explain the observations of scattered light from protoplanetary and debris disks, especially when the dust sizes are on the same order of magnitude as the wavelength used to perform the observations. Moreover, examples of grains collected from the Solar System have proved that the morphology of interstellar dust is irregular. These pieces of evidence lead us to consider that the morphologies of the dust that participates in these circumstellar disks are more complex than those of spheres.

Aims. We aim to measure and simulate the scattering properties of six rough compact grains to identify how their morphology affects their scattering properties. These grains are intended to be dust analogs of protoplanetary and debris disks. Their convexity ranges from 75% to 99%.

Methods. Grains were 3D printed using stereolithography, and their shape and refractive index were controlled. These analogs were measured with our microwave-scattering experiment (microwave analogy) at wavelengths ranging from 16.7 mm to 100 mm, leading to size parameters from X = 1.07 to X = 7.73. In parallel, their scattering properties were simulated with our finite-element method (FEM), which contained the same geometric file as the 3D printed grains.

Results. We retrieved five scattering properties of these grains, that is, the phase function, the degree of linear polarization (DLP), and three other Mueller matrix elements 〈S_ij〉. Two types of studies were performed. First, a study of the scattering properties averaged over several orientations of grains at different wavelengths. Second, a study of the same scattering properties, for which a power-law size distribution effect was applied.

Conclusions. The very good correspondence between the measured and simulated Mueller matrix elements demonstrated the accuracy of our measurement setup and the efficiency of our FEM simulations. For the first study, DLP proved to be a good indicator of the grain morphology in terms of convexity and shape anisotropy. For the second study, backscattering enhancements of the phase function were related to the grain convexity. The maximum DLP and its negative polarization branches as well as the 〈S₂₂〉/〈S₁₁〉 levels were related to the shape anisotropy of our grains.