What is in the database?
The database contains
references
to papers,
data files
and
links
to internet resources related to the measurement and calculation of optical constants
in the wavelength range from X-rays to the radio domain. The materials listed include
amorphous and crystalline silicates, oxides, sulfides, carbides,
carbonaceous materials including amorphous carbon, graphite, and diamond, and other materials of astrophysical,
terrestrial, and atmospheric interest. In addition, several ices are included. The most recent entries in the database pertain to ice data, which has been produced and measured in the MPIA laboratories in Jena and Heidelberg.
The database includes approximately 1,500 references to papers, books, and dissertations that present data on refractive indices, reflectance/transmittance, mass absorption coefficients, and other optical properties.
It is not feasible to cite all the papers, particularly for materials such as water ice, quartz, silica, silicon,
Mg and Al oxides, diamond and amorphous carbon. The focus is on papers that are astronomically interesting.
The work on the database is still in progress.
The database was initially populated with data that was available for us, including optical constants that had been measured in the laboratory of the Astrophysical Institute of the Friedrich Schiller University (Jena), data obtained from the former Soviet Union prior to 1974 (when it joined the International Copyright Agreement), and data that had been frequently used and that was accessible without restriction. The data are presented in their original format (tables or figures) as well as in our standard tabular format. In some cases we also provide plots (refractive index vs wavelength, dielectric permittivity vs energy). Additionally, the data are accompanied by information regarding the method used for calculations, the instrumentation utilized, and the samples considered. The service codes of the database permit users to transfer the data from our standard format to a desired form (refractive index/dielectric permittivity vs wavelength/wavenumber/energy tables with numbers given in any format). Our scattering codes based on the Mie theory and the separation of variable methods for spheroids allow the transformation of data into cross-sections, single scattering albedo, and other forms.
The database includes references to books and reviews on the subject, such as the classical handbooks edited by E.D.Palik,
as well as links to Internet collections of optical constants and personal websites with related software
in our database.