Grain Dynamics In Magnetized Interstellar Gas

Abstract

Interstellar medium is turbulent and this induces relative motions of dust grains. We calculate relative velocities of charged grains in a partially ionized magnetized gas. We account for anisotropy of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence, grain coupling with magnetic field, and the turbulence cutoff arising from the ambipolar drag. We obtain grain velocities for turbulence with parameters consistent with those in HI and dark clouds. Those velocities are smaller than those in earlier papers, where MHD effects were disregarded. Finally, we compare grain velocities arising from photoelectric emission, radiation pressure and thrusts from molecular hydrogen formation. We conclude that turbulence should prevent segregation of grains of different sizes.