Interstellar extinction and polarization in the infrared

The wavelength dependences of interstellar continuum extinction and polarization in the range 0.35-5 microns are examined. The existence of a universal extinction curve with power law index of about 1.8 extending from the near-IR to at least 5 microns appears to be established for both diffuse and dense cloud dust. The polarization yields evidence for some degree of universality in the 1.6-5 micron regime which may be represented by a power law with index 1.5-2.0, encompassing that for extinction. The form of the polarization curve in the IR seems independent of the wavelength at which the degree of polarization peaks in the optical, implying that variations in that wavelength are caused by changes in the optical properties of the particle at blue-visible rather than IR wavelengths. It is argued that the more significant alterations of the grain size distribution from one environment to another occur for the smaller particles.