size measurement of small dust particles around a young star tagged posts

Dust disk around the young star HD 142527 observed with ALMA.

Researchers have for the first time, achieved a precise size measurement of small dust particles around a young star through radio-wave polarization. ALMA’s high sensitivity for detecting polarized radio waves made possible this important step in tracing the formation of planets around young stars. Astronomers have believed that planets are formed from gas and dust particles, although the details of the process have been veiled. One of the major enigmas is how dust particles as small as 1 micrometer aggregate to form a rocky planet with a diameter of 10,000 km. Difficulty in measuring the size of dust particles has prevented astronomers from tracing the process of dust growth.

Akimasa Kataoka and his collaborators have theoretic...