Dust grain properties and their relation to the measured scattering phase function

Determine the dust grain structure and composition of the TWA 20 debris disk and characterize how these properties relate to the measured Henyey–Greenstein scattering phase function derived from JWST/NIRCam observations.

Background

The authors fit the scattered-light data with a GRaTer model using a two-component Henyey–Greenstein scattering phase function, noting forward-scattering behavior and a possible back-scattering peak. However, the coronagraph masks the disk’s backside, constraining accessible scattering angles and complicating interpretation.

They explicitly leave for future work the determination of the disk’s grain structure and composition and how these properties connect to the measured scattering behavior, emphasizing that current data and modeling do not uniquely resolve these physical characteristics.