A. McCall

UV circular polarisation in star formation regions: the origin of homochirality?

Ultraviolet circularly polarised light has been suggested as the initial cause of the homochirality of organic molecules in terrestrial organisms, via enantiomeric selection of prebiotic molecules by asymmetric photolysis. We present a theoretical investigation of mechanisms by which ultraviolet circular polarisation may be produced in star formation regions. In the scenarios considered here, light scattering produces only a small percentage of net circular polarisation at any point in space, due to the forward throwing nature of the phase function in the ultraviolet. By contrast, dichroic extinction can produce a fairly high percentage of net circular polarisation (∼10%) and may therefore play a key role in producing an enantiomeric excess.

Polarization models of young stellar objects — II. Linear and circular polarimetry of R Coronae Australis

Near-infrared linear imaging polarimetry of the young stellar objects R CrA and T CrA in the J, H and Kn bands, and circular imaging polarimetry in the H band, is presented. The data are modelled with the Clark and McCall scattering model. The R CrA and T CrA system is shown to be a particularly complex scattering environment. In the case of R CrA there is evidence that the wavelength dependence of polarization changes across the nebula. MRN dust grain models do not explain this behaviour. Depolarization by line emission is considered as an alternative explanation. The dust grain properties could also be changing