Abstract
The cores in molecular clouds are the densest and coldest regions of the interstellar medium (ISM). In these regions ISM-dust grains have the potential to coagulate. This study investigates the collisional evolution of the dust population by combining two models: a binary model that simulates the collision between two aggregates and a coagulation model that computes the dust size distribution with time. In the first, results from a parameter study quantify the outcome of the collision - sticking, fragmentation (shattering, breakage, and erosion) - and the effects on the internal structure of the particles in tabular format. These tables are then used as input for the dust evolution model, which is applied to an homogeneous and static cloud of temperature 10K and gas densities between 103 and 107cm–3.
