Fulleranes and Carbon Nanostructures in the Interstellar Medium

Abstract

AbstractWe review the potential contribution of single fullerenes and buckyonions to interstellar extinction. Photoabsorption spectra of these molecules are compared with some of the most relevant features of interstellar extinction, the UV bump, the far UV rise and the diffuse interstellar bands. According to semiempirical models, photoabsorption by fullerenes (single and multishell) could explain the shape, width and peak energy of the most prominent feature of the interstellar absorption, the UV bump at 2,175 Å. Other weaker transitions are predicted in the optical and near-infrared providing a potential explanation for diffuse interstellar bands. In particular, several fullerenes could contribute to the well known strong DIB at 4,430 Å comparing cross sections and available data for this DIB and the UV bump we estimate a density of fullerenes in the diffuse interstellar medium of 0.1–0.2 ppm. These molecules could then be a major reservoir for interstellar carbon. We give an estimation of the carbon fraction locked in these molecules. We discuss the rotation rates and electric dipole emission of hydrogenated icosahedral fullerenes in various phases of the interstellar medium. These molecules could be the carriers of the anomalous microwave emission detected by Watson et al. (Astrophys. J. 624:L89, 2005) in the Perseus molecular complex and Cassasus et al. (2006) in the dark cloud LDN 1622. Hydrogenated forms of fullerenes may account for the dust-correlated microwave emission detected in our Galaxy by Cosmic Microwave Background experiments.KeywordsInterstellar MediumPlanetary NebulaMicrowave EmissionCarbon StarInterstellar ExtinctionThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.