The Mid-Infrared Extinction Law in the Ophiuchus, Perseus, and Serpens Molecular Clouds

We compute the mid-IR extinction law from 3.6 to 24 is a subset of m in three molecular clouds-Ophiuchus, Perseus, and Serpens-by combining data from the 'Cores to Disks' Spitzer Legacy Science program with deep JHKs imaging. Using a new technique, we are able to calculate the line-of-sight (LOS) extinction law toward each background star in our fields. With these LOS measurements, we create, for the first time, maps of the xi 2 deviation of the data from two extinction law models. Because our xi 2 maps have the same spatial resolution as our extinction maps, we can directly observe the changing extinction law as a function of the total column density. In the Spitzer Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) bands, 3.6-8 is a subset of m, we see evidence for grain growth. Below , our extinction law is well fitted by the Weingartner and Draine RV = 3.1 diffuse interstellar-medium dust model. As the extinction increases, our law gradually flattens, and for , the data are more consistent with the Weingartner and Draine RV = 5.5 model that uses larger maximum dust grain sizes. At 24 is a subset of m, our extinction law is 2-4 times higher than the values predicted by theoretical dust models, but is more consistent with the observational results of Flaherty et al. Finally, from our xi 2 maps we identify a region in Perseus where the IRAC extinction law is anomalously high considering its column density. A steeper near-IR extinction law than the one we have assumed may partially explain the IRAC extinction law in this region.