The cosmic infrared background (CIRB) is a record of a large fraction of the emission of light by stars and galaxies over time. The bulk of this emission has been resolved by the Infrared Space Observatory camera. The dominant contributors are bright starburst galaxies with redshift z approximately 0.8; that is, in the same redshift range as the active galactic nuclei responsible for the bulk o...

We re-address the classification criterion for extremely red galaxies (ERGs) of Pozzetti & Mannucci (2000 – PM00), which aims to separate, in the Ic − K (or Rc − K) vs. J−K colour–colour diagram, passively evolving, old (> 1 Gyr) stellar populations in a dust-free environment, associated with ellipticals (Es), from dusty starburst galaxies (DSGs), both at 1 < z < 2. We explore a category of obj...

The core of the nebula surrounding Eta Carinae has recently been observed with VLT/NACO, VLTI/VINCI, VLTI/MIDI and VLTI/AMBER in order to spatially and spectrally constrain the warm dusty environment and the central object. Narrow-band images at 3.74 µm and 4.05 µm reveal the structured butterfly-shaped dusty environment close to the central star with an unprecedented spatial resolution of abou...

Introduction Plasmas with dust grains are of interest both for the cosmic space as well as for the laboratory plasmas. Examples include cometary environments, planetary rings, the interstellar medium, the Earth’s and other planets magnetospheres [1]. Dust has been found to be a determinant component of rarefied plasmas used in the microelectronic processing industry [2], and it may also be pres...

I discuss the discovery of a population of extremely luminous, but very dusty and very distant, galaxies in the submillimetre (submm) waveband. Almost all the light emitted by the stars in these galaxies is absorbed by interstellar dust (which is produced by the same stars) and re-radiated in the far-infrared. This leaves little to be detected at optical wavelengths and results in most of these...

Structure formation and wave phenomena in moderately coupled dusty plasmas." PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) thesis, ABSTRACT Dusty plasmas, defined as plasmas of ions, electrons, neutrals, and charged micron to sub-micron dust particles, support a rich diversity of physical states. These states (ranging from solids to liquids to gas) are determined by the ratio of the Coulomb potential energy betwe...

This paper highlights some of the history of laboratory experiments in dusty plasmas, beginning with an early unexpected discovery of Langmuir. Although there was a great deal of theoretical work on dusty plasmas long before dedicated laboratory experiments were initiated, the experimental work is catching−up and new discoveries in the laboratory are motivating further theoretical work.