Bibcode
Garcia-Hernandez, D. A.
Bibliographical reference
The Molecular Universe, Posters from the proceedings of the 280th Symposium of the International Astronomical Union held in Toledo, Spain, May 30-June 3, 2011, #171
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5
2011
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
Hydrogen depleted environments have been considered an essential
requirement for the efficient formation of fullerene molecules in
circumstellar/interstellar environments. In particular, the
hydrogen-poor, helium-rich, and carbon-rich character of the gas around
R Coronae Borealis (RCB) stars has been suggested to be a promising site
for the efficient formation of these complex molecules. These
suggestions are not supported by the Spitzer Space Telescope
observations presented here, showing that infrared transitions of
fullerenes are seen together with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)
features in H-containing Planetary Nebulae (PNe) and the two least
H-deficient (hydrogen deficiency of only ~10-100) RCB stars. Present
observations of fullerenes in PNe and RCB stars suggest that both PAHs
and fullerenes may be formed by the photochemical processing of
hydrogenated amorphous carbon (HAC), although other chemical routes
cannot be discarded. We present accurate C60 and C70 abundances and
C70/C60 ratios by using the most recent laboratory data on C60 and C70
fullerenes, which give us essential information about the conditions and
the chemical route for fullerene formation in H-rich
circumstellar/interstellar environments.