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The processes and mechanisms involved in the rotation and alignment of interstellar dust grains have been of great interest in astrophysics ever since the surprising discovery of the polarization of starlight more than half a century ago. Numerous theories, detailed mathematical models, and numerical studies of grain rotation and alignment with respect to the Galactic magnetic field have been presented in the literature. In particular, the subject of grain rotation and alignment by radiative torques has been shown to be of particular interest in recent years. However, despite many investigations, a satisfactory theoretical understanding of the processes involved in grain rotation and alignment has not been achieved. As there appear to be no experimental data available on this subject, we have carried out some unique experiments to illuminate the processes involved in the rotation of dust grains in the interstellar medium. In this paper we present the results of some preliminary laboratory experiments on the rotation of individual micron /submicron-sized, nonspherical dust grains levitated in an electrodynamic balance evacuated to pressures of $10 À3 to 10 À5 torr. The particles are illuminated by laser light at 5320 8, and the grain rotation rates are obtained by analyzing the low-frequency ($0-100 kHz) signal of the scattered light detected by a photodiode detector. The rotation rates are compared with simple theoretical models to retrieve some basic rotational parameters. The results are examined in light of the current theories of alignment.

The photoelectric emission process is considered to be the dominant mechanism for charging of cosmic dust grains in many astrophysical environments. The grain charge and equilibrium potentials play an important role in the dynamical and physical processes that include heating of the neutral gas in the interstellar medium, coagulation processes in the dust clouds, and levitation and dynamical processes in the interplanetary medium and planetary surfaces and rings. An accurate evaluation of photoelectric emission processes requires knowledge of the photoelectric yields of individual dust grains of astrophysical composition as opposed to the values obtained from measurements on flat surfaces of bulk materials, as it is generally assumed on theoretical considerations that the yields for the small grains are much different from the bulk values. We present laboratory measurements of the photoelectric yields of individual dust grains of silica, olivine, and graphite of $0.09-5 m radii levitated in an electrodynamic balance and illuminated with UV radiation at 120-160 nm wavelengths. The measured yields are found to be substantially higher than the bulk values given in the literature and indicate a size dependence with larger particles having order-of-magnitude higher values than for submicron-size grains.

The Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) on the Cassini spacecraft made infrared observations of Jupiter's atmosphere during the flyby of 2000 December to 2001 January. The unique database in the 600-1400 cm À1 region with 0.53 and 2.8 cm À1 spectral resolutions obtained from the observations permits retrieval of global maps of the thermal structure and composition of Jupiter's atmosphere, including the distributions of 14 NH 3 and 15 NH 3. Analysis of Jupiter's ammonia distributions from three isolated 15 NH 3 spectral lines in eight latitudes is presented for evaluation of the nitrogen isotopic ratio. The nitrogen isotopic ratio 14 N/ 15 N (or 15 N/ 14 N) in Jupiter's atmosphere in this analysis is calculated to be 448 AE 62 [or ð2:23 AE 0:31Þ Â 10 À3 ]. This value of the ratio determined from CIRS data is found to be in very close agreement with the value previously obtained from the measurements by the Galileo Probe Mass Spectrometer. Some possible mechanisms to account for the variation of Jupiter's observed isotopic ratio relative to those of various astrophysical environments are discussed.

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