Bruce Draine
Princeton University · Astronomy
Active 1974–2026
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About
Bruce Draine is an Emeritus Professor of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University. He received a B.A. from Swarthmore College in 1969 and served in the Peace Corps teaching physics and math in Ghana for two years. He earned his Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from Cornell University in 1978, followed by postdoctoral appointments at Harvard and the Institute for Advanced Study. Draine joined the Department of Astrophysical Sciences in 1982. His research interests are in theoretical astrophysics, with a particular focus on the physics of the interstellar medium. He has worked on various topics including the theory of interstellar shock waves and the structure of photodissociation regions, with a long-standing obsession with interstellar dust, especially interstellar grains. Draine was a member of the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxy Survey (SINGS) and the KINGFISH collaboration, utilizing data from the Spitzer and Herschel Space Telescopes to study nearby galaxies. Additionally, he co-developed DDSCAT, an open-source program used for calculating electromagnetic scattering and absorption by small particles, which has applications in nanotechnology and marine biology. He was a founder of Princeton Charter School and has received notable awards including the Danny Heinemann prize of the AAS and AIP in 2004, and election to the National Academy of Sciences in 2007.
Research topics
- Physics
- Astrophysics
- Astronomy
- Astrobiology
- Materials science
Selected publications
The Astrophysical Journal · 2021-08-01 · 126 citations
articleOpen access1st authorCorrespondingAbstract Using physical models, we study the sensitivity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission spectra to the character of the illuminating starlight, to the PAH size distribution, and to the PAH charge distribution. The starlight models considered range from the emission from a 3 Myr old starburst, rich in far-ultraviolet (FUV) radiation, to the FUV-poor spectrum of the very old population of the M31 bulge. A wide range of starlight intensities is considered. The effects of reddenin…
The Astrophysical Journal · 2024-10-01 · 24 citations
articleOpen accessAbstract We use deep Spitzer mid-infrared spectroscopic maps of radial strips across three nearby galaxies with well-studied metallicity gradients (M101, NGC 628, and NGC 2403) to explore the physical origins of the observed deficit of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at subsolar metallicity (i.e., the PAH–metallicity relation or PZR). These maps allow us to trace the evolution of all PAH features from 5–18 μ m as metallicity decreases continuously from solar ( Z ⊙ ) to 0.2 Z ⊙ . The tota…
The Astrophysical Journal · 2025-09-05 · 9 citations
articleOpen accessAbstract We present observations of the nearby extremely metal-poor galaxy I Zw 18 using the Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI) and the JWST Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) Integral Field Spectrographs. From optical and mid-IR oxygen emission lines, we measured direct-method abundances for three ionic states of oxygen, including O 3+ /H + . In contrast to previous studies of I Zw 18 the high spatial resolution afforded by KCWI and MIRI/MRS revealed chemical inhomogeneities on 60 pc scales in the form…
The Astrophysical Journal · 2024-04-01 · 8 citations
articleOpen accessAbstract We present a focused study of radially resolved varying PAH emission in the low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (AGN)-host NGC 4138 using deep Spitzer/infrared spectrograph spectral maps. Using new model PAH spectra, we investigate whether these variations could be associated with changes to the PAH grain size distribution due to photodestruction by the AGN. Separately, we model the effects of the varying radiation field within NGC 4138, and we use this model to predict the correspon…
Detection of Deuterated Hydrocarbon Nanoparticles in the Whirlpool Galaxy, M51
The Astrophysical Journal Letters · 2025-05-07 · 7 citations
articleOpen access1st authorCorrespondingAbstract Deuteration of hydrocarbon material, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), has been proposed to account for the low gas-phase abundances of D in the interstellar medium (ISM). JWST spectra of four star-forming regions in M51 show an emission feature, with central wavelength ∼4.647 μ m and FWHM 0.0265 μ m, corresponding to the C–D stretching mode in aliphatic hydrocarbons. The emitting aliphatic material is estimated to have (D/H) aliph. ≈0.17 ± 0.02—a factor of ∼10 4 enrich…
Recent grants
Optics and Dynamics of Interstellar Dust
NSF · $341k · 2004–2010
Optics of Interstellar Dust: New Methods and Applications
NSF · $225k · 2019–2023
Optical Properties of Interstellar Dust
NSF · $333k · 2010–2014
Frequent coauthors
- 97 shared
Daniel A. Dale
- 79 shared
G. Hélou
- 78 shared
Daniela Calzetti
- 78 shared
L. Armus
Infrared Processing and Analysis Center
- 78 shared
H. Roussel
- 77 shared
Karl D. Gordon
- 76 shared
J. D. Smith
- 71 shared
Robert C. Kennicutt
University of Arizona
Awards & honors
- Danny Heinemann prize of the AAS and AIP (2004)
- elected to the National Academy of Sciences (2007)
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