The diffuse interstellar bands - a brief review

Abstract

The diffuse interstellar bands, or DIBs, are a large set of absorption features, mostly at optical and near infrared wavelengths, that are found in the spectra of reddened stars and other objects. They arise in interstellar gas and are observed toward numerous objects in our galaxy as well as in other galaxies. Although long thought to be associated with carbon-bearing molecules, none of them had been conclusively identified until last year, when several nearinfrared DIBs were matched to the laboratory spectrum of singly ionized buckminsterfullerene (C60+). This development appears to have begun to solve what is perhaps the greatest unsolved mystery in astronomical spectroscopy. Also recently, new DIBs have been discovered at infrared wavelengths and are the longest wavelength DIBs ever found. I present the general characteristics of the DIBs and their history, emphasizing recent developments.