Interstellar Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds and Astrophysics
Over the past 15 years, thanks to significant, parallel advancements in observational, experimental, and theoretical techniques, tremendous strides have been made in our understanding of the role polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) in the interstellar medium (ISM). Twenty years ago, the notion of an abundant population of large, carbon-rich molecules in the ISM was considered preposterous. Today, the unmistakable spectroscopic signatures of PACs--shockingly large molecules by previous interstellar chemistry standards--are recognized throughout the universe. In this article, we will examine the interstellar PAC model and its importance to astrophysics, including: (a) the evidence which led to inception of the model, (b) the ensuing laboratory and theoretical studies of the fundamental spectroscopic properties of PAC by which the model has been refined and extended, and (c) a few examples of how the model is being exploited to derive insight into the nature of the interstellar PAC population.
Keywords: infrared spectroscopy; interstellar molecules; matrix-isolation; polycyclic aromatic molecules and ions
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: Astrochemistry Laboratory, NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California, USA
Publication date: 01 July 2002
- Access Key
- Free content
- Partial Free content
- New content
- Open access content
- Partial Open access content
- Subscribed content
- Partial Subscribed content
- Free trial content