Interstellar medium
Heating mechanisms

Grain heating by thermal exchange is very important in supernova remnants where densities and temperatures are very high.

Gas heating via grain-gas collisions is dominant deep in giant molecular clouds (especially at high densities). Far infrared radiation penetrates deeply due to the low optical depth. Dust grains are heated via this radiation and can transfer thermal energy during collisions with the gas. A measure of efficiency in the heating is given by the accommodation coefficient: α = T 2 − T T d − T {\displaystyle \alpha ={\frac {T_{2}-T}{T_{d}-T}}} where T is the gas temperature, T the dust temperature, and T the post-collision temperature of the gas atom or molecule. This coefficient was measured by (Burke & Hollenbach 1983) as α = 0.35.
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