Diverse features of dust particles and their aggregates inferred from experimental nanoparticles

Nanometre- to micrometre-sized solid dust particles play a vital role in star and planet formations. Despite of their importance, however, our understanding of physical and chemical properties of dust particles is still provisional. We have conducted a condensation experiment of the vapour generated from a solid starting material having nearly cosmic proportions in elements. A laser flash heating and subsequent cooling has produced a diverse type of nanoparticles simultaneously. Here we introduce four types of nanoparticles as potential dust particles in space: amorphous silicate nanoparticles (type S); core/mantle nanoparticles with iron or hydrogenized iron core and amorphous silicate mantle (type IS); silicon oxycarbide nanoparticles and hydrogenized silicon oxycarbide nanoparticles (type SiOC); and carbon nanoparticles (type C), all produced in a single heating–cooling event. Type IS and SiOC nanoparticles are new for potential astrophysical dust. The nanoparticles are aggregated to a wide variety of structures: compact, fluffy, and networked. A simultaneous formation of these nanoparticles, which are diverse in chemistry, shape, and structure, prompts a re-evaluation of astrophysical dust particles.