Oral Presentation

The potential of multi-wavelength submm polarization as a tracer of dust properties

Author(s): Lapo Fanciullo

Presenter: Lapo Fanciullo (ASIAA)

The polarization P of thermal dust emission depends on multiple factors: the properties of dust, the grain alignment efficiency and the orientation and structure of the magnetic field. This degeneracy makes it particularly challenging to interpret observed values of P.
This problem can be alleviated if one studies not the absolute value of P, but its variation with wavelength. Such variation depends mostly on dust properties, because in the limit of small grains compared to wavelength -- usually valid in the submm -- the effects of magnetic field and alignment efficiency on P are mostly independent of wavelength.
I explore how multi-wavelength observations can answer some specific questions on dust properties, and how facilities such as SOFIA and JCMT are already providing us with the necessary data.