We report the first detection of buckminsterfullerene (C60) in a proto-planetary nebula (PPN). The vibrational transitions of C60 at 7.0, 17.4, and 18.9um are detected in the Spitzer/IRS spectrum of IRAS 01005+7910. This detection suggests that fullerenes are formed shortly after the asymptotic giant branch but before the planetary nebulae stage. A comparison with the observations of C60 in other sources is made and the implication on circumstellar chemistry is discussed.
@article{arxiv.1102.2985,
title = {Detection of C60 in the proto-planetary nebula IRAS 01005+7910},
author = {Yong Zhang and Sun Kwok},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1102.2985},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
14 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ