Bibcode
Iglesias-Groth, Susana
Referencia bibliográfica
Organic Matter in Space, Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, IAU Symposium, Volume 251, p. 57-62
Fecha de publicación:
10
2008
Número de citas
3
Número de citas referidas
1
Descripción
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
2175 Å. Other weaker transitions are predicted in the optical and
near-infrared providing a potential explanation for diffuse interstellar
bands. In particular, we find that several fullerenes could contribute
to the well known strong DIB at 4430 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
also study the rotation rates and electric dipole emission of
hydrogenated icosahedral fullerenes. We investigate these molecules as
potential carriers of the anomalous (dust-correlated) microwave emission
recently detected by several cosmic microwave background experiments.