A Constrained Dust Opacity for Models of Dense Clouds and Protostellar Envelopes

Abstract

Abstract Radiative transfer models of dense clouds and protostellar envelopes rely on the availability of appropriate dust opacities, particularly as new JWST data become available. We present the model opacity known as KP5 , which fits the (1–1000 μ m) extinction curve measured for icy dust in dense molecular clouds by Spitzer and JCMT, and has been used by the community since 2009, but not previously published. The opacity law (absorption, scattering, and Henyey–Greenstein asymmetry parameter) includes H 2 O, CO, and CO 2 ices, and has been shown to be well suited for models of embedded protostars.

Topics & Concepts