Related papers: Interstellar Fullerene Compounds and Diffuse Inter…
We compare and analyze the Spitzer mid-infrared spectrum of three fullerene-rich planetary nebulae in the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds; Tc1, SMP SMC16, and SMP LMC56. The three planetary nebulae share many spectroscopic similarities.…
New views on the diffuse interstellar bands are discussed. In particular results from DIB surveys and the study of near-infrared DIBs.
The wavelength dependences of interstellar extinction and polarization, supplemented by observed elemental abundances and the spectrum of infrared emission from dust heated by starlight, strongly constrain dust models. One dust model that…
The C_{60} molecule exhibits a remarkable stability and inertness that leads to its survival in ancient carbonaceous rocks initially subject to the high temperatures requisite for its formation. Elementary particles having very high…
We report the first detection of the 5705 and 5780 A Diffuse Interstellar Bands (DIBs) in a moderate redshift Damped Lyman alpha (DLA) system. We measure a rest frame equivalent width of 63.2 +- 8.7 mA for the 5705 and 216+-9 mA for the…
Extremely broad emission wings at H$\beta$ and H$\alpha$ have been found in VFTS data for five very luminous BA supergiants in or near 30 Doradus in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The profiles of both lines are extremely asymmetrical, which we…
The Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared (HIFI) aboard the Herschel Space Observatory has acquired high-resolution broadband molecular spectra of star-forming regions in a wavelength range that is mostly inaccessible from ground-based…
Formed at an early stage of gas-phase ion-molecule chemistry, hydrides -- molecules containing a heavy element covalently bonded to one or more hydrogen atoms -- play an important role in interstellar chemistry as they are the progenitors…
Post-common-envelope binaries (PCEBs) containing a white dwarf (WD) and a main-sequence (MS) star can constrain the physics of common envelope evolution and calibrate binary evolution models. Most PCEBs studied to date have short orbital…
Dwarf irregulars (dIrrs) are among the most common type of galaxy in the Universe. They typically have gas-rich, low surface-brightness, metal-poor, and relatively-thick disks. Here we summarize the current state of our knowledge of the…
High resolution HI observations of nearby dwarf galaxies (most of which are situated in the M 81 group at a distance of about 3.2 Mpc) reveal that their neutral interstellar medium (ISM) is dominated by hole-like features most of which are…
Diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) are absorption features seen in optical and infrared spectra of stars that are probably caused by large and complex molecules in the ISM. Here we investigate the Galactic distribution and properties of two…
Herbig Ae/Be stars are a class of young pre-main sequence stellar objects of intermediate mass and are known to have varying amounts of natal cloud material still present in their direct vicinity. We characterise the IR emission bands, due…
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules have been long considered promising candidates for the carriers of the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs). The PAH-DIB hypothesis, however, raises two major issues. First, the number of…
Information on the existence and properties of diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) outside the optical domain is still limited. Additional infra-red (IR) measurements and IR-optical correlative studies are needed to constrain DIB carriers and…
We critically examine a scenario for the enrichment of the interstellar medium (ISM) in which supernova ejecta follow a long (10^8 yr) journey before falling back onto the galactic disk in the form of metal-rich ``droplets'', These droplets…
Fullerenes are known to be polarizable due to the strained carbon-carbon bonds and high surface curvature. Electronic polarization of fullerenes is of steady practical importance, since it leads to non-additive interactions and, therefore,…
Although diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) were discovered over 100 years ago, for most of them, their origins are still unknown. Investigation on the correlations between different DIBs is an important way to study the behavior and…
Context: Numerous studies of diffuse interstellar band (DIB) profiles have detected substructures, which in turn suggests that large molecules are acting as their carriers. However, some of the narrowest DIBs generally do not show such…
We use star, galaxy and quasar spectra taken by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to map out the distribution of diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) induced by the Milky Way. We show that, after carefully removing the intrinsic spectral energy…