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Interstellar and circumstellar grain

formation and survival
Anthony P. Jones
Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A 2001 359, 1961-1972
doi: 10.1098/rsta.2001.0890

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10.1098/rsta.2001.0890

Interstellar and circumstellar

grain formation and survival
By A n t h o n y P. J o n e s
Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale, Universit¶e Paris Sud, B^atiment 121,
91405 Orsay Cedex, France (Anthony.Jones@ias.u-psud.fr)

Dust formation is primarily associated with stars in their dying throes, e.g. when
low-mass stars reach the red-giant or asymptotic-giant branch (AGB) phase of their
evolution, or when massive stars explode as supernovae (SNe). While the contribution
of AGB stars to the galactic dust budget is signi­ cant, both in terms of variety and
quantity, that due to SNe is not yet clear. AGB stardust formation includes grains
of amorphous and crystalline silicates, hydrogenated carbons, silicon carbide and
graphite. However, not all of these materials have yet been detected in circumstellar
regions or in the interstellar medium (ISM). The derived lifetimes for these materials
in the ISM appear to be short compared with the time-scale for the formation of new
dust. Thus a grain lifetime and propagation problem is posed. Apparently, it is also
necessary to reform and grow grains in the ISM, through accretion and coagulation
processes, in order to explain interstellar dust observations. This paper discusses
dust formation in circumstellar and interstellar environments, dust sources and their
contributions to the galactic dust budget, and dust survival and propagation in
the ISM.
Keyword s: interstellar dust; circumstellar dust; dust composition;
dust formation; dust processing in the ISM

1. Introduction
Dust is primarily formed in the shells around stars in the red-giant and asymptotic-
giant branch (AGB) phases of their evolution (e.g. M giants, carbon stars and radio
luminous OH/IR stars), but some small fraction is also formed in the circumstellar
shells around supergiants, novae, planetary nebulae (PNe), WC stars and in the
ejecta of supernovae (supernovae (SNe) types Ia and II). The presence of circumstellar
dust is generally revealed by infrared (IR) thermal continuum emission from the dust
near the star and also by the opacity of this dust.
On entering the interstellar medium (ISM), i.e. through the e¬ects of stellar winds,
dust formed in circumstellar regions is subject to processing in the ISM. This pro-
cessing may include erosion, fragmentation and destruction in SN-generated shock
waves, grain growth via mantle accretion and coagulation in quiescent clouds, and
fragmentation/coagulation in turbulent interstellar clouds.

(a) The composition of interstellar dust

In the ISM we have direct evidence for amorphous silicate grain materials from
the Si{O bond stretching and O{Si{O bending modes at 10 and 20 m m, respec-

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A (2001) 359, 1961{1972 ® c 2001 The Royal Society
1961
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1962 A. P. Jones

Table 1. Interstellar dust properties

composition nature evidence

`aromatic’ carbons small heat capacity, depletion of carbon, extinction,

(hydrogenated) stochastically heated `aromatic’ emission bands
carbonaceous amorphous grains depletion of carbon, extinction,
(hydrogenated) (not in mantles) unpolarized aliphatic C{H band
silicate/metal oxide amorphous, aspherical, Si, Mg and Fe depletions, extinction,
magnetic inclusions Si{O bands at 10 and 20 m m,
optical and IR polarization

amorphous ices mantles on IR absorption bands,

(H2 O, CO, CO2 , silicate grains polarized 3 m m H2 O ice band
CH3 OH, H2 CO, etc.)

tively, observed in absorption toward stars without dusty circumstellar envelopes

(see, for example, Mathis 1990). There is also evidence for hydrocarbon grains from
the aliphatic 3.4 m m C{H stretching vibration, which is seen in absorption in the
di¬use ISM, and also from the ubiquitous IR emission bands seen at 3.3, 6.2, 7.7,
8.6, 11.3 and 12.7 m m, which are attributed to C{H and C{C modes in an aromatic
hydrocarbon dust component (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) or hydro-
genated carbon particles (see, for example, Dorschner & Henning 1995)). In addition,
the absorption bump in the extinction curve at 217.5 nm is also attributed to carbon-
bearing dust, generally of graphitic composition (see, for example, Draine 1995). We
also have indirect evidence for carbonaceous, silicate and Fe/Mg oxide dust from the
observed depletion of elements in the di¬use ISM, i.e. C, Si, Mg, Fe, Fe and O (see,
for example, Savage & Sembach 1996). Although graphite is often used in interstellar
dust models, there is currently no direct evidence for this material in the ISM.
Table 1 summarizes the nature and composition of the dust in the di¬use and dense
ISM, as inferred from observations of interstellar extinction, scattering, emission and
polarization, and also from elemental depletion studies (see, for example, Whittet
1992; Evans 1994; Dorschner & Henning 1995). This dust has a continuous size distri-
bution ranging from the smallest|ca. 1{10 nm grains (aromatic hydrocarbons/PAHs
and amorphous carbons)|up to ca. 1 m m sized grains (amorphous silicate).

(b) The composition of circumstellar dust

The broad and featureless amorphous silicate bands at 10 and 20 m m have been
observed in absorption and emission in dusty stellar envelopes (see, for example,
Dorschner & Henning 1995), and also in regions close to bright stars (see, for example,
Cesarsky et al. 2000). These bands were long ago attributed to silicates (Woolf & Ney
1969). However, Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) observations of AGB circumstellar
shells show additional narrower emission bands in the 10{45 m m region. These bands
are attributed to crystalline silicates, e.g. Mg-rich olivine (forsterite) and Mg-rich
pyroxene (enstatite) silicates. The detection of these crystalline silicates is evident
only in high mass-loss rate shells (Waters et al. 1996), but this may simply be due
to sensitivity-limit and radiative transfer e¬ects (Kemper et al. 2001).

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Interstellar and circumstellar grain formation 1963

Table 2. Typical pre-solar grains found in primitive meteorites

(All data are taken from Frisch et al. (1999).)

abundance
composition typical radii (ppm) isotopic tracersa stellar sources

diamond 2 nm 1400 Xe{HL type II SNe

13 14 22
SiC (mainstream) 0.05{10 m m 14 C, N, Ne C-rich AGB stars
12
graphite 0.4{6 m m 10 C, 1 8 O type II SNe,
extinct 4 4 Ti (Wolf{Rayet stars)
17 18
Al2 O3 0.15{2.5 m m 0.3 O, O red giant,
AGB stars
12
SiC (X grains) 0.25{5 m m 0.1 C, 1 5 N, 2 8 Si type II SNe
extinct 2 6 Al, 4 4 Ti
12
Si3 N4 ca. 0.5 m m 0.002 C, 1 5 N, 2 8 Si type II SNe
extinct 2 6 Al
a
Bold face (normal) type indicates an isotopic enhancement (depletion) with respect to the Solar
System isotopic composition, except for extinct species.
It is interesting to note that crystalline silicates have only been unambiguously
observed in circumstellar shells and not in the ISM. Apparently, all interstellar sil-
icates are amorphous (see, for example, Mathis 1990); this could be explained by
the amorphitization of crystalline silicates in interstellar shock waves (Demyk et al .
2001).
Another Si-rich material, silicon carbide (SiC), has long been detected in circum-
stellar shells (see, for example, Tre¬ers & Cohen 1974), but, as is the case for crys-
talline silicates, it is not seen in the ISM. The composition of the observed circumstel-
lar SiC appears to be consistent with the meteoritic SiC grain composition, i.e. ­ -SiC
(Speck et al. 1999).
Diamond is yet another material whose presence is only indicated in circumstellar
regions. Its presence has been inferred from an emission band seen at ca. 21 m m in
some protoplanetary nebulae (PPNe) (Hill et al . 1998) and from emission bands
at 3.43 and 3.53 m m (Guillois et al. 1999).

(c) Interstellar and circumstellar dust in the Solar System

Pre-solar dust (see table 2) includes nanometre-sized grains of diamond and micro-
metre-sized grains of silicon carbide (SiC), graphite, corrundum (Al2 O3 ) and silicon
nitride (Si 3 N4 ). TiC has also been found as inclusions in the pre-solar graphite grains
(Bernatowicz 1997). For a review of the characteristics of the three most abundant
pre-solar grain types (i.e. diamond, SiC and graphite), see the review by Anders &
Zinner (1993). The pre-solar grains, ranging from nanometres to tens of micrometres
in size, have been extracted from primitive meteorites, i.e. those that underwent
little thermal alteration during the formation of the Solar System (see, for example,
Cameron 1973). The extracted pre-solar grains are all of very refractory materials, a
property that ensures their survival in the ISM and through the laboratory extraction
processes. They have isotopic anomalies that clearly indicate their pre-solar origins.
For example, the diamonds are associated with type II SNe (Lewis et al . 1987),
most SiC grains were formed in the atmospheres of AGB stars (Lewis et al . 1994),

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1964 A. P. Jones

the graphite grains formed around massive stars (Hoppe et al . 1992), and the oxide
grains were formed around red-giant and AGB stars (Nittler 1997). The fact that
pre-solar circumstellar dust is found in the Solar System implies that these grains
must have been transported through the ISM and incorporated into the solar nebula
4.5 billion years ago (see, for example, Cameron 1973). Note, however, that the
extracted pre-solar grains are compositionally very di¬erent from interstellar grains
(see table 1).
It has been suggested (Bradley 1994) that the grains known as GEMS (glass with
embedded metal and sulphides) found in interplanetary dust particles represent sil-
icate stardust that has been processed in and transported through the ISM. This
intriguing suggestion has yet to be con­ rmed.
The Solar System is today actually passing through a cloud of interstellar gas and
dust. The evidence for this comes from the detectors on the Ulysses spacecraft (Grun
et al . 1993, 1994; Frisch et al . 1999) and radar studies of meteoroids in the Earth’s
atmosphere (Taylor et al . 1996). In both cases, particles with velocities in excess of
the escape velocity for the Solar System at the point of detection were observed.
These grains must therefore also be of interstellar origin. The particles detected by
the Ulysses experiments (mean size ca. 0.8 m m) are somewhat larger than the typical
interstellar grains (ca. 0.005{0.5 m m), and the meteoroids detected in the radar studies
are signi­ cantly larger (sizes ca. 15{40 m m).

2. Dust formation in circumstellar environments

Observationally, stars with the highest mass-loss rates show the presence of dust,
implying a link between high mass-loss rates and the formation of dust (see, for
example, Jura 1987). In essence, high mass-loss rates correspond to high densities
near the photosphere, which are conducive to dust formation.

(a) The dust formation and growth

The critical step in circumstellar grain formation is the production of the nuclei
that seed grain growth in the dense photosphere. Early studies of particle nucleation
in the astrophysical context showed that approaches based on the classical homoge-
neous nucleation theory are not valid (see, for example, Nuth & Donn 1983). Nucle-
ation is probably the least understood step in the dust-formation process despite early
progress made in this ­ eld (see, for example, Frenklach & Feigelson 1989; Woitke et
al . 1993) and will not be discussed here.
Based on ISO data, Demyk et al. (2000) have shown that the dust composition
around OH/IR stars is consistent with the oxygen-rich dust condensation sequence.
Hence it seems that once oxygen-rich grains nucleate and grow, they do so in accor-
dance with expectations.
Once formed in circumstellar shells, grains are driven away from the central star
by a radiation pressure force, which is counteracted by gas-drag. The net e¬ect of
these two forces determines the terminal velocity of the grains, and therefore the rate
of grain growth in a circumstellar shell (Tielens 1983; Dominik et al. 1989). In this
process, the grains couple with the gas through gas{grain collisions and drive stellar
mass loss (see, for example, Dominik et al. 1989).
Following Spitzer (1978), the radiation pressure force on a grain in a circumstellar
region is given by Fp r = º a2 hQp r ifL? =(4º r 2 c)g, where a is the grain radius, hQp r i

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Table 3. The contributions of stellar sources to dust in the ISM

(See, for example, Dorschner & Henning (1995), Jones et al . (1997) and Dwek (1998).)

contribution
stellar source ( 10¡ 6
M ­ kpc¡ 2 yr¡ 1
) type(s) of dust formed

M giants 3 silicates
RL OH/IR stars 3 silicates
C stars 2 SiC, carbonaceous
supergiants 0.2 silicates
novae 0.003 0.2 silicates, SiC, carbonaceous
PN 0.03 carbonaceous
WC stars 0.03 carbonaceous
SN type II 0.15 14 silicates, carbonaceous
SN type Ia 0.03 2.3 silicates, carbonaceous

is the radiation pressure e¯ ciency factor, L? is the stellar luminosity, r is the dis-
tance from the star and c is the velocity of light. The opposing gas-drag force is
approximately given by Fd = º a2 » gas vd 2 , where » gas is the gas density, and vd is the
dust drift velocity with respect to the gas. The stellar mass-loss rate is given by
M_ = 4º » gas r 2 v, where v is the terminal velocity of the gas, and we can then write
the dust drift velocity (cf. Habing et al . 1994) as
µ ¶ µ ¶1=2
hQp r iL? v 1=2 a
vd ’ ’ 1:9 km s¡ 1 ; (2.1)
_
Mc 50 nm
where typical cool stellar radiation ­ eld parameters (i.e. v = 10 km s¡ 1 , L? = 5000L­
and M_ = 10¡ 5 M­ yr¡ 1 ) and a radiation pressure e¯ ciency appropriate for sili-
cates (hQp r i ’ 0:02a=50 nm) have been adopted. Carbonaceous particles have slightly
higher e¯ ciencies (hQp r i ’ 0:08a=50 nm) and hence slightly higher drift velocities.
Equation (2.1) indicates that the drift velocity increases with decreasing mass-
loss rate and, for a mass-loss rate of 10¡ 8 M­ yr¡ 1 , it reaches a limiting value
of ca. 40 km s¡ 1 for 50 nm silicate grains. In terms of the gas and dust balance
in the ISM, the relatively few sources with the highest mass-loss rates (greater
than 10¡ 5 M­ yr¡ 1 ) can dominate dust input to the ISM (see, for example. Jura
1987). Typical drift velocities for these types of envelopes are of order 1 km s¡ 1 ,
which is less than the threshold velocity for the sputtering of dust materials, and
destruction of the grains is therefore unimportant. However, the lower threshold
velocities (ca. 2 km s¡ 1 ) for shattering in grain{grain collisions implies that grain
fragmentation could be important (Jones et al . 1996; see also x 3).

(b) Dust sources and the galactic dust budget

In table 3 the contributions of the major sources of dust in the ISM are given
(see, for example, Dorschner & Henning 1995; Jones et al. 1997; Dwek 1998). The
dust from these circumstellar sources is injected into the ambient ISM by stellar
winds (see x 2 a). The dust-formation rate is thus of order 8{30 10¡ 6 M­ kpc¡ 2 yr¡ 1
averaged over the Galaxy. The exact rate depends on the e¯ ciency of dust formation
in SNe, which is not yet known (see, for example, Jones et al . 1997; Dwek 1998).

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1966 A. P. Jones

However, SNe certainly do contribute some dust because grains with type II SN
isotopic composition are recovered from meteorites. Additionally, even if SNe do not
directly contribute a signi­ cant fraction to the dust budget, they do provide the
elemental building blocks for refractory dust (e.g. the Si and Fe atoms that can
form silicate grains). However, to date, no Fe-containing pre-solar grains have been
identi­ ed.
Assuming that the interstellar dust mass is 1% of the galactic gas mass (i.e. 0:01
5 109 M­ ), the entire galactic dust mass can be replenished on a time-scale of the
order of 3 109 yr (see, for example, Jones & Tielens 1994).

3. Dust survival, formation and propagation in the ISM

Pre-solar dust studies clearly show that some circumstellar dust grains survived res-
idence in, and transport through, the ISM before their eventual incorporation into
Solar System meteorites. However, these grains are of refractory materials (e.g. dia-
mond, SiC, graphite and Al2 O3 ) and are not typical interstellar grains (see x 1 c).
If grains of less refractory materials, e.g. crystalline and amorphous silicates, and
amorphous carbons, are present, they are lost during the laboratory extraction pro-
cess. In any event, it is not clear that these less-refractory grains could ever retain an
isotopic memory of their formation site. This is because, in the ISM, grains undergo
erosional reprocessing in high-energy shocks, followed by reformation in quiescent
regions. Thus, in time, they should become chemically and isotopically homogenized.
True interstellar grains will therefore not be easy recognize in meteorites.

(a) Dust survival in the ISM and its consequences

Dust in the ISM is subject to processing in interstellar shock waves arising from
cloud{cloud collisions and SNe. Observations show that strong shocks destroy dust
(see, for example, Routly & Spitzer 1952; Cowie 1978; Crinklaw et al . 1994; Savage
& Sembach 1996). Shocks drive gas{grain collisions, which result in the sputtering
and erosion of grains, and also grain{grain collisions, which lead to the vaporization
and fragmentation of grains (see, for example, Jones et al . 1994, 1996, 1997). The
fragmentation process may indeed be at the origin of the approximate power-law
dust-size distribution inferred for the di¬use ISM (see, for example, Bierman & Har-
witt 1980). Thus the interstellar dust-size distribution must evolve both temporally
and spatially, and its dynamical evolution is determined by the balance between the
physical processing in shock waves in the low-density ISM (dominated by erosion and
fragmentation) and more benign processing in dense clouds (dominated by accretion
and coagulation).
Let us ­ rst consider the erosional processing of interstellar dust in shock waves. The
subject of dust destruction in shocks has been the focus of many theoretical studies
(see Jones et al . (1997) and the references therein for a review of this subject). In
the most recent of these studies (Jones et al . 1994, 1996), grain lifetimes of the order
of 4{6 108 yr are indicated. In contrast, the injection time-scale for dust formed
by AGB stars is of order 3 109 yr (see, for example, Jones & Tielens 1994). The
di¬erence between the inferred destruction and injection time-scales is at odds with
the observed depletions of the refractory elements in the ISM (Mathis 1990). Thus,
based on the results of these theoretical models, we are drawn to the conclusion that
dust must also be formed in situ in the ISM.

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The problem of grain lifetimes in the ISM is further compounded if one considers
the e¬ects of grain shattering in grain{grain collisions. The shattering of grains into
smaller fragments, upon collision with other grains, occurs at relatively low velocities
(v > 2 km s¡ 1 ), compared with vaporization in grain{grain collisions and sputtering
in atom/ion{grain collisions (v > 20 km s¡ 1 ). The time-scale for grain disruption in
shocks, it turns out, is about an order of magnitude shorter than the destruction time-
scale (Jones et al. 1996). Thus, in addition to the problem of reforming grains in the
ISM through accretion, large grains must also be reformed in some phase of the ISM.
In order to explain the observed interstellar extinction, a large fraction (ca. 40%) of
the grain mass must be in particles larger than 100 nm. If grain shattering is e¯ cient
in shock waves, then, necessarily, the coagulation of the fragments into large grains
in dense clouds must also be e¯ cient. This scenario leads to the conclusion that
the large interstellar grains must be porous or fractal in nature because the packing
e¯ ciency in coagulated grains is not 100% e¯ cient.
Interestingly, the inferred ages for the meteoritic SiC grains are ca. 1:3 108 {
2 109 yr (Lewis et al. 1994), i.e. much larger than the typical interval between SN
shock waves (ca. 107 yr). It therefore seems that pre-solar grains that traversed the
ISM before their incorporation into the Solar System should retain some memory of
their time in the ISM, i.e. evidence of exposure to sputtering and/or surface pitting
due to the cratering impact of small grains in shock waves. However, in contrast
to expectations, the surfaces of the extracted SiC and graphite grains are relatively
clean and, in the case of SiC, may even show crystallographic faces (Bernatowicz
1997). The most likely solution, particularly for the large SiC and graphite grains, is
that the grains that survive are those that never saw a strong shock in the ISM. The
dust that has been processed by shocks in the ISM has probably lost the `isotopic
memory’ of its birth-site, due to ion implantation, erosion and re-accretion, and is
therefore no longer isotopically discernible in meteorites.

(b) Dust formation in the ISM

Field (1974) showed that elements with the highest condensation temperatures
generally have the highest depletions in the ISM and that this is consistent with
grain condensation in cool stellar atmospheres. However, the observed e¬ect is also
consistent with the lower-temperature process of grain growth via the re-accretion of
eroded atoms/ions (see, for example, Savage & Sembach 1996). Thus the elemental
depletion patterns observed in di¬use clouds could arise from the selective accretion
of elements with high condensation temperatures. The accretion time-scale for a
cloud of density nH is ca. 109 (1 cm¡ 3 =nH ) yr. For a di¬use cloud with a typical
density of a few tens of H atoms/cm3 , the accretion time-scale is therefore of the order
of 107 {108 yr, i.e. similar to the neutral ISM cycling time-scale of 3 107 yr, which
is driven by massive star formation in molecular clouds (see, for example, McKee
1989). Thus accretion onto grains in the low-density ISM probably has only a minor
role in determining the elemental depletions. However, in higher-density regions,
accretion onto pre-existing grains is faster, and under such conditions mantles will
be formed far from equilibrium. Grain mantles will therefore probably be amorphous
and chemically heterogeneous. Also, because the Si/C abundance ratio is much less
than unity, no silicates or SiC grains are expected to form in the ISM. Interstellar
dust, the dust which resides in the ISM, is then a mixture of circumstellar dust,
reprocessed circumstellar dust and dust that is formed in situ in the ISM.

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1968 A. P. Jones

In the densest interstellar regions, i.e. the shielded environments of molecular

clouds, the grains may form icy mantles of simple molecules such as H2 O, CO, CO2
and CH3 OH (see table 1 or, for example, Schutte (1999)). In these regions, icy man-
tle formation will probably be accompanied by relatively low-velocity grain{grain
collisions, leading to grain growth via coagulation.

(c) Dust propagation in the ISM

Grains formed in a circumstellar shell move away from the central star through the
relatively gentle outward force of radiation pressure (see x 2 a). As dust propagates
away from the star, further processing can occur in the shock front (v ’ 5{20 km s¡ 1 ),
where the ejecta merge with the ambient ISM. Neglecting shattering, the processing
of dust in the transition region between the stellar wind and the ISM has been
considered (Woitke et al . 1993), and it has been concluded that there is little dust
destruction in these environments. Thus stellar winds generally provide a gentle
mechanism for dust propagation into the ISM.
SN shock waves, on the other hand, are e¯ cient at propagating grains over large
distances through the ISM because they sweep up interstellar gas and dust, and
accelerate them to velocities of the order of 10{100 km s¡ 1 . These shocks provide the
kinetic energy that maintains the turbulent motions in the ISM, and are thus respon-
sible for the turbulent di¬usion of dust in the ISM. In cold atomic and molecular
clouds, where most of the dust mass resides, shocks are typically of order 10 km s¡ 1 ,
i.e. fast enough to shatter dust but not destroy it. However, shocks in the warm
intercloud medium are faster, and the large di¬erential gas{grain and grain{grain
velocities that are generated behind the shock front can lead to grain destruction
and reprocessing. Thus shock waves are essential in transporting dust through the
ISM, but not all of the dust survives this process (see x 3 a).

4. Summary
New dust is principally formed in the circumstellar shells around AGB stars, although
SNe could also be a very signi­ cant source. SNe undoubtedly contribute to the ele-
mental building blocks of dust (i.e. Si, Fe, etc.), but SN-generated shock waves are
the major destroyers of pre-existing interstellar dust.
Currently, our knowledge of the refractory interstellar and circumstellar dust com-
ponents comes from observations of dust extinction, scattering, absorption, emission
and polarization, and from elemental depletion studies. However, in the pre-solar
grains extracted from primitive meteorites, we also have a direct sample of grains
formed in circumstellar shells. Table 4 summarizes what we currently know of the
interstellar and circumstellar dust composition. The entries in table 4 indicate that
interstellar and circumstellar dust compositions generally seem to be rather similar,
except for the Mg-rich crystalline silicate and SiC grains. On the other hand, apart
from the SiC grains in common with circumstellar dust, the pre-solar grains appear
to represent completely di¬erent grain species. However, this di¬erence is almost
certainly due to a selection e¬ect, i.e. the fact that only grains of the most refractory
materials have so far been extracted from primitive meteorites. The less refractory
components (e.g. silicates and carbonaceous materials) are currently lost during the
extraction process.

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Interstellar and circumstellar grain formation 1969

Table 4. Current know ledge of interstellar, circumstellar and

pre-solar dust components and grain composition
(Square brackets indicate dust components that have not been unequivocally identi¯ed in a
given phase.)

interstellar circumstellar pre-solar

aromatic hydrocarbons aromatic hydrocarbons [aromatic hydrocarbons]

aliphatic hydrocarbons aliphatic hydrocarbons
graphite
[diamond] diamond
amorphous silicates amorphous silicates
[aluminosilicate] a
crystalline silicates
(Mg-rich olivine,
Mg-rich pyroxene)
[Mg and Fe oxides]b [Fe oxide]a Al2 O3
­ -SiC ­ -SiC
TiC
Si3 N4
a
Demyk et al . (1999).
b
Inferred from depletion studies (see, for example, Spitzer & Fitzpatrick 1993).

Clearly, pre-solar circumstellar dust grains have somehow been transported

through the ISM and incorporated into the Solar System. Stellar winds are the means
by which newly formed circumstellar dust ­ nds its way into the ambient ISM around
the source. The action of these winds on the dust is relatively benign and thus it is
likely that large amounts of circumstellar dust are transferred into the ISM by this
means. However, stellar winds cannot propagate the dust over large interstellar dis-
tances. For transport over large distances, SNe must play a major role, but they will
heavily process, or even destroy, much of the dust in the process of transporting it.
Thus interstellar dust will be processed as it is propagated throughout the Galaxy by
the e¬ects of SN shock waves. Most of the dust in the ISM is therefore probably not
in the pristine state that it was formed in. This may explain why crystalline grains
are only found near to their sites of formation, i.e. in AGB stardust shells. In the
ISM, the dust is probably rendered amorphous by the e¬ects of atom/ion implanta-
tion in SN shock waves. Additionally, the lifetime for dust in the ISM is shorter than
the time-scale to reform it. Hence we are drawn to the inescapable conclusion that
a signi­ cant fraction of dust must also be formed, or reformed, in the ISM through
the e¬ects of mantle accretion and coagulation in grain{grain collisions.
The derived ages of the pre-solar SiC grains extracted from primitive meteorites
(ca. 1:3 108 to 2 109 yr) indicate that these are grains that survived for a long
time in the ISM, and also survived in the solar nebula and eventual incorporation
into meteorites. Thus some fraction of pre-solar circumstellar dust can apparently
survive almost unscathed in the Galaxy for at least a hundred million years. This
survival is remarkable given the hostility of the galactic ISM that they must have
traversed. However, the survival of these grains is evidently aided by their very
refractory nature. Hence the pre-solar SiC gains are those grains that would have
been the most resistant to processing in interstellar shocks. Thus the analysis of

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the less refractory meteoritic components, i.e. the carbon, silicate and oxide particles
that could be the proto-typical interstellar grains, is eagerly awaited. Will these grain
components be distinct (i.e. isotopically anomalous), or isotopically `normal’ through
having been completely homogenized by the processes of destruction and re-accretion
in the ISM? If interstellar grains in primitive meteorites are isotopically `normal’,
then these grains can probably only be recognized as being of interstellar origin
through their heavily processed morphologies (i.e. implanted, cratered, fragmented,
etc.) or through spectroscopy (i.e. direct comparison of meteoritic grain spectroscopy
with observations of dust in the ISM). Neither of these options will be easy and it may
therefore be some time before we are able to recognize and isolate `real’ interstellar
grains from primitive meteorites.

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Discussion
A. Witt (The University of Toledo, Toledo, USA). I would like to suggest that the
idea of grain shattering and random reassembly in the ISM could be tested with
a main spectrometer such as the one available on the dust detector on the Cassini
spacecraft. If this is indeed a dominant process, detected single grains should display
a mixture of elements not representative of speci­ c chemical formation conditions in
stellar out®ows.
A. P. Jones. This is indeed a good idea to test the prediction of interstellar dust
homogenization arising from the conclusions of the most recent dust lifetime deter-
minations (Jones et al . 1996).
If the comet Halley ®y-by results from the Vega and Giotto dust detectors (see, for
example, Schulze et al . 1997) can tell us anything, i.e. because the analysed particles
include fossil interstellar grains, then we may already have some indications.
The Halley results show that the detected grains always contain an organic car-
bonaceous component, and that the overall dust composition is chondritic, as would
be expected for e¯ cient dust homogenization in the ISM. However, the results also
indicate that there are reasonably well-de­ ned mineral assemblages (similar to the
interplanetary dust-particle compositions), and that almost half of the detected par-
ticles are dominated by single mineral grains. This would support the case for inef-
­ cient dust processing in the ISM.
Thus the comet Halley dust results are somewhat inconclusive. However, the comet
Halley dust particles may have no relationship to interstellar dust at all!

Additional reference
Schulze, H., Kissel, J. & Jessberger, E. K. 1997 Chemistry and mineralogy of comet Halley’ s
dust. In From stardust to planetesmials (ed. Y. J. Pendleton & A. G. G. M. Tielens). ASP
Conference Series, vol. 122, pp. 397{414. San Francisco, CA: Astronomical Society of the
Paci¯c.

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