Related papers: The C60:C60+ ratio in diffuse and translucent inte…
In this paper, we present new data with interstellar C2 (Phillips bands A-X), from observations made with the Ultraviolet-Visual Echelle Spectrograph of the European Southern Observatory. We have determined the interstellar column densities…
The presence of neutral C60 fullerenes in circumstellar environments has been firmly established by astronomical observations as well as laboratory experiments and quantum-chemistry calculations. However, the large variations observed in…
Although fullerenes have long been hypothesized to occur in interstellar environments, their actual unambiguous spectroscopic identification is of more recent date. C60, C70 and C60+ now constitute the largest molecular species individually…
Gas phase spectroscopic laboratory experiments for the buckminsterfullerene cation C60+ resulted in accurate rest wavelengths for five C60+ transitions that have been compared with diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) in the near infra-red.…
We have used the ionisation equilibrium equation to derive the electron density in interstellar clouds in the direction to 13 stars. A linear relation was found, that allows the determination of the electron density from the Mg I and Mg II…
Observations of H3+ in the Galactic diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) have led to various surprising results, including the conclusion that the cosmic-ray ionization rate (zeta_2) is about 1 order of magnitude larger than previously…
We present a simple, semianalytical approach to compute the line emission of C+, C and CO in Photodissociation Regions of varying metallicity that depends on very few parameters and naturally incorporates the clumpiness of the interstellar…
Interstellar ices play a fundamental role in the physical and chemical evolution of molecular clouds and star-forming regions, yet their large-scale distribution and abundance remain challenging to map. In this work, I present the ice color…
We recently identified several emission bands in the Spitzer-IRS spectrum of the unusual planetary nebula Tc 1 with the infrared active vibrational modes of the neutral fullerene species C60 and C70. Since then, the fullerene bands have…
We demonstrate, using the high resolution spectra from the ESPADONS spectrograph, fed with the 3.6m CFH telescope, that the strength ratios of the strong--to--weak spectral features, attributed to C$_{60}^+$, are variable. We found that in…
Infrared emission bands with wavelengths between 3-20 {\mu}m are observed in a variety of astrophysical environments [1,2]. They were discovered in the 1970s and are generally attributed to organic compounds [3,4]. However, over 40 years of…
The recent detection of fullerene (C$_{60}$) in space and the positive assignment of five diffuse interstellar bands to C$_{60}^+$ reinforce the notion that fullerene-related compounds can be efficiently formed in circumstellar envelopes…
We present high-resolution (R~15000) VLT/UVES optical spectra of two planetary nebulae (PNe; Tc 1 and M 1-20) where C60 (and C70) fullerenes have already been found. These spectra are of high-quality (S/N > 300) for PN Tc 1, which permits…
The intermittent dissipation of interstellar turbulence is an important energy source in the diffuse ISM. Though on average smaller than the heating rates due to cosmic rays and the photoelectric effect on dust grains, the turbulent cascade…
Cosmic rays are a fundamental source of ionization for molecular and diffuse clouds, influencing their chemical, thermal, and dynamical evolution. The amount of cosmic rays inside a cloud also determines the $\gamma$-ray flux produced by…
Context. Using observations to deduce dust properties, grain size distribution, and physical conditions in molecular clouds is a highly degenerate problem. Aims. The coreshine phenomenon, a scattering process at 3.6 and 4.5 $\mu$m that…
The project Galactic Cold Cores has made Herschel observations of interstellar clouds where the Planck satellite survey has located cold and compact clumps. The sources range from starless clumps to protostellar cores. We examine 116…
Cosmic rays are a fundamental source of ionization for molecular and diffuse clouds, influencing their chemical, thermal, and dynamical evolution. The amount of cosmic rays inside a cloud also determines the $\gamma$-ray flux produced by…
We used the Plateau de Bure Interferometer to search for $\lambda$3mm absorption lines of HOC+ from local diffuse and translucent clouds occulting compact extragalactic mm-wave continuum sources. We detected HOC+ in three directions with…
Using the Planck far-infrared and Arecibo GALFA 21-cm line surveys, we identified a set of isolated interstellar clouds (approximately degree-sized on the sky and comprising 100 solar masses) and assessed the ratio of gas mass to dust mass.…