To study the particle dynamics and size distribution in the Beta Pictoris system, the author calculates the ratio of radiative pressure forces to gravitation acting on small grains having a wide range of realistic compositions. Using Mie theory calculations and taking into account the observed spectral energy distribution of the central star the author predicts that for spherical particles of any realistic composition with radii between a few times 10-2 and approximately 1 μm the radiation pressure overcomes the gravitational attraction and, hence, removes such grains from the system. Porous grains as large as 10 μm in radius may be blown out.
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Pawel Artymowicz (1988) studied this question.