The polycrystalline samples of Sm₂(MoO₄)₃ have been prepared by heating appropriate quantities of oxides. The X-ray powder diffraction technique has been used to provide information about lattice parameter, space group and basic structure. The dielectric constant has been measured as a function of frequency (560 Hz-13 MHz) and temperature (30–220°C) to know the ferroelectric transition temperature.

The effect of the radiative cooling of electrons on the gravitational collapse of cold dust grains with fluctuating electric charge is investigated. We find that the radiative cooling as well as the charge fluctuations, both, enhance the growth rate of the Jeans instability. However, the Jeans length, which is zero for cold grains and nonradiative plasma, becomes finite in the presence of radiative cooling of electrons and is further enhanced due to charge fluctuations of grains resulting in an increased threshold of the spatial scale for the Jeans instability.