2,144 research outputs found
A search for diffuse bands in fullerene planetary nebulae: evidence of diffuse circumstellar bands
Large fullerenes and fullerene-based molecules have been proposed as carriers
of diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs). The recent detection of the most common
fullerenes (C60 and C70) around some planetary nebulae (PNe) now enable us to
study the DIBs towards fullerene-rich space environments. We search DIBs in the
optical spectra towards three fullerene-containing PNe (Tc 1, M 1-20, and IC
418). Special attention is given to DIBs which are found to be unusually
intense towards these fullerene sources. In particular, an unusually strong
4428A absorption feature is a common charateristic of fullerene PNe. Similar to
Tc 1, the strongest optical bands of neutral C60 are not detected towards IC
418. Our high-quality (S/N > 300) spectra for PN Tc 1, together with its large
radial velocity, permit us to search for the presence of diffuse bands of
circumstellar origin, which we refer to as diffuse circumstellar bands (DCBs).
We report the first tentative detection of two DCBs at 4428 and 5780 A in the
fullerene-rich circumstellar environment around the PN Tc 1. Laboratory and
theoretical studies of fullerenes in their multifarious manifestations (carbon
onions, fullerene clusters, or even complex species formed by fullerenes and
other molecules like PAHs or metals) may help solve the mystery of some of the
diffuse band carriers.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics (16 pages, 10
figures, and 7 Tables); final version (changes regarding PN M 1-20 and
language corrected
Infrared Study of Fullerene Planetary Nebulae
We present a study of 16 PNe where fullerenes have been detected in their
Spitzer spectra. This large sample of objects offers an unique opportunity to
test conditions of fullerene formation and survival under different metallicity
environments as we are analyzing five sources in our own Galaxy, four in the
LMC, and seven in the SMC. Among the 16 PNe under study, we present the first
detection of C60 (possibly also C70) fullerenes in the PN M 1-60 as well as of
the unusual 6.6, 9.8, and 20 um features (possible planar C24) in the PN K
3-54. Although selection effects in the original samples of PNe observed with
Spitzer may play a potentially significant role in the statistics, we find that
the detection rate of fullerenes in C-rich PNe increases with decreasing
metallicity (5% in the Galaxy, 20% in the LMC, and 44% in the SMC). CLOUDY
photoionization modeling matches the observed IR fluxes with central stars that
display a rather narrow range in effective temperature (30,000-45,000 K),
suggesting a common evolutionary status of the objects and similar fullerene
formation conditions. The observed C60 intensity ratios in the Galactic sources
confirm our previous finding in the MCs that the fullerene emission is not
excited by the UV radiation from the central star. CLOUDY models also show that
line- and wind-blanketed model atmospheres can explain many of the observed
[NeIII]/[NeII] ratios by photoionization suggesting that possibly the UV
radiation from the central star, and not shocks, are triggering the
decomposition of the circumstellar dust grains. With the data at hand, we
suggest that the most likely explanation for the formation of fullerenes and
graphene precursors in PNe is that these molecular species are built from the
photo-chemical processing of a carbonaceous compound with a mixture of aromatic
and aliphatic structures similar to that of HAC dust.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ (43 pages, 11 figures, and 4 tables).
Small changes to fit the proof-corrected article to be published in Ap
The formation of fullerenes: clues from new C60, C70, and (possible) planar C24 detections in Magellanic Cloud Planetary Nebulae
We present ten new Spitzer detections of fullerenes in Magellanic Cloud
Planetary Nebulae, including the first extragalactic detections of the C70
molecule. These new fullerene detections together with the most recent
laboratory data permit us to report an accurate determination of the C60 and
C70 abundances in space. Also, we report evidence for the possible detection of
planar C24 in some of our fullerene sources, as indicated by the detection of
very unusual emission features coincident with the strongest transitions of
this molecule at ~6.6, 9.8, and 20 um. The infrared spectra display a complex
mix of aliphatic and aromatic species such as hydrogenated amorphous carbon
grains (HACs), PAH clusters, fullerenes, and small dehydrogenated carbon
clusters (possible planar C24). The coexistence of such a variety of molecular
species supports the idea that fullerenes are formed from the decomposition of
HACs. We propose that fullerenes are formed from the destruction of HACs,
possibly as a consequence of shocks driven by the fast stellar winds, which can
sometimes be very strong in transition sources and young PNe. This is supported
by the fact that many of our fullerene-detected PNe show altered [NeIII]/[NeII]
ratios suggestive of shocks as well as P-Cygni profiles in their UV lines
indicative of recently enhanced mass loss.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters (16
pages, 2 Tables and 3 figures
Development of anti-permeation and corrosion barrier coatings for the WCLL breeding blanket of the European DEMO
Centrality dependence of charged particle production at large transverse momentum in Pb-Pb collisions at TeV
The inclusive transverse momentum () distributions of primary
charged particles are measured in the pseudo-rapidity range as a
function of event centrality in Pb-Pb collisions at
TeV with ALICE at the LHC. The data are presented in the range
GeV/ for nine centrality intervals from 70-80% to 0-5%.
The Pb-Pb spectra are presented in terms of the nuclear modification factor
using a pp reference spectrum measured at the same collision
energy. We observe that the suppression of high- particles strongly
depends on event centrality. In central collisions (0-5%) the yield is most
suppressed with at -7 GeV/. Above
GeV/, there is a significant rise in the nuclear modification
factor, which reaches for GeV/. In
peripheral collisions (70-80%), the suppression is weaker with almost independently of . The measured nuclear
modification factors are compared to other measurements and model calculations.Comment: 17 pages, 4 captioned figures, 2 tables, authors from page 12,
published version, figures at
http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/284
Effective Rheology of Bubbles Moving in a Capillary Tube
We calculate the average volumetric flux versus pressure drop of bubbles
moving in a single capillary tube with varying diameter, finding a square-root
relation from mapping the flow equations onto that of a driven overdamped
pendulum. The calculation is based on a derivation of the equation of motion of
a bubble train from considering the capillary forces and the entropy production
associated with the viscous flow. We also calculate the configurational
probability of the positions of the bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur
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