Real Dust Particles and Unimportance of the Poynting-Robertson Effect

The importance of the Poynting-Robertson effect on the motion of interplanetary dust particles is discussed. Precise numerical calculations for real dust particle show that condition for the validity of the Poynting-Robertson effect is not fulfilled. The interaction of the (solar) electromagnetic radiation with really shaped dust particle is different from that which yields the Poynting-Robertson effect. The magnitude of the Poynting-Robertson effect's deceleration term is in one to two orders in magnitude (it depends on particle's size) less important than terms corresponding to nonforward (or, nonbackward) scattering.