Bibcode
García-Hernández, D. A.; Manchado, A.; García-Lario, P.; Stanghellini, L.; Villaver, E.; Shaw, R. A.; Szczerba, R.; Perea-Calderón, J. V.
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Volume 724, Issue 1, pp. L39-L43 (2010).
Advertised on:
11
2010
Citations
157
Refereed citations
125
Description
Hydrogen depleted environments are considered an essential requirement
for the formation of fullerenes. The recent detection of C60
and C70 fullerenes in what was interpreted as the
hydrogen-poor inner region of a post-final helium shell flash planetary
nebula (PN) seemed to confirm this picture. Here, we present strong
evidence that challenges the current paradigm regarding fullerene
formation, showing that it can take place in circumstellar environments
containing hydrogen. We report the simultaneous detection of polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and fullerenes toward C-rich and
H-containing PNe belonging to environments with very different chemical
histories such as our own Galaxy and the Small Magellanic Cloud. We
suggest that PAHs and fullerenes may be formed by the photochemical
processing of hydrogenated amorphous carbon. These observations suggest
that modifications may be needed to our current understanding of the
chemistry of large organic molecules as well as the chemical processing
in space.
Related projects
Nucleosynthesis and molecular processes in the late stages of Stellar Evolution
Low- to intermediate-mass (M < 8 solar masses, Ms) stars represent the majority of stars in the Cosmos. They finish their lives on the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) - just before they form planetary nebulae (PNe) - where they experience complex nucleosynthetic and molecular processes. AGB stars are important contributors to the enrichment of the
Domingo Aníbal
García Hernández