ON THE VIABILITY OF THE PAH MODEL AS AN EXPLANATION OF THE UNIDENTIFIED INFRARED EMISSION FEATURES

Journal Article · Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2015 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/798/1/37· OSTI ID:22364722

Zhang, Yong; Kwok, Sun ^[1]

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1. Department of Physics, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong (China)

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules are widely considered the preferred candidate for the carrier of the unidentified infrared emission bands observed in the interstellar medium and circumstellar envelopes. In this paper, we report the results of fitting a variety of non-PAH spectra (silicates, hydrogenated amorphous carbon, coal, and even artificial spectra) using the theoretical infrared spectra of PAHs from the NASA Ames PAH IR Spectroscopic Database. We show that these non-PAH spectra can be well fitted by PAH mixtures. This suggests that a general match between astronomical spectra and those of PAH mixtures does not necessarily provide definitive support for the PAH hypothesis.

• OSTI ID: 22364722
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 798, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ASTRONOMY
CARBON
COAL
EMISSION SPECTRA
HYDROGENATION
HYPOTHESIS
INFRARED SPECTRA
INTERSTELLAR SPACE
MOLECULES
POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
SILICATES
VIABILITY