Bibcode
García-Hernández, D. Anibal
Bibliographical reference
Planetary Nebulae: An Eye to the Future, Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, IAU Symposium, Volume 283, p. 148-155
Advertised on:
8
2012
Citations
13
Refereed citations
11
Description
Many complex organic molecules and inorganic solid-state compounds have
been observed in the circumstellar shell of stars (both C-rich and
O-rich) in the transition phase between Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB)
stars and Planetary Nebulae (PNe). This short
(~102-104 years) phase of stellar evolution
represents a wonderful laboratory for astrochemistry and provides severe
constraints on any model of gas-phase and solid-state chemistry. One of
the major challenges of present day astrophysics and astrochemistry is
to understand the formation pathways of these complex organic molecules
and inorganic solid-state compounds (e.g., polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons, fullerenes, and graphene in the case of a C-rich chemistry
and oxides and crystalline silicates in O-rich environments) in space.
In this review, I present an observational review of the molecular
processes in the late stages of stellar evolution with a special
emphasis on the first detections of fullerenes and graphene in PNe.