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The Aromatic Infrared Bands around the Wolf-Rayet Binary WR140 Revealed by JWST
Authors:
Kotomi Taniguchi,
Ryan M. Lau,
Takashi Onaka,
Macarena Garcia Marin,
Hideo Matsuhara,
Anthony Moffat,
Theodore R. Gull,
Thomas I. Madura,
Gerd Weigelt,
Riko Senoo,
Alan T. Tokunaga,
Walter Duley,
Peredur M. Williams,
Noel D. Richardson,
Joel Sanchez-Bermudez
Abstract:
We have analyzed the aromatic infrared bands (AIBs) in the 6-11.2 $μ$m range around the Wolf-Rayet binary WR140 (d=1.64 kpc) obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) Medium-Resolution Spectrometer (MRS). In WR140's circumstellar environment, we have detected AIBs at 6 $μ$m and 7.7 $μ$m which are attributed to C-C stretching modes. These features have been…
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We have analyzed the aromatic infrared bands (AIBs) in the 6-11.2 $μ$m range around the Wolf-Rayet binary WR140 (d=1.64 kpc) obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) Medium-Resolution Spectrometer (MRS). In WR140's circumstellar environment, we have detected AIBs at 6 $μ$m and 7.7 $μ$m which are attributed to C-C stretching modes. These features have been detected in the innermost dust shell (Shell1; ~2100 au from WR140), the subsequent dust shell (Shell2; ~5200 au), and ``off-shell'' regions in the MRS coverage. The 11.2 $μ$m AIB, which is associated with the C-H out-of-plane bending mode, has been tentatively detected in Shell2 and the surrounding off-shell positions around Shell2. We compared the AIB features from WR140 to spectra of established AIB feature classes A, B, C, and D. The detected features around WR140 do not agree with these established classes. The peak wavelengths and full width half maxima (FWHMs) of the 6 $μ$m and 7.7 $μ$m features are, however, consistent with those of R Coronae Borealis (RCB) stars with hydrogen-poor conditions. We discuss a possible structure of carbonaceous compounds and environments where they form around WR140. It is proposed that hydrogen-poor carbonaceous compounds initially originate from the carbon-rich WR wind, and the hydrogen-rich stellar wind from the companion O star may provide hydrogen to these carbonaceous compounds.
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Submitted 31 August, 2025;
originally announced September 2025.
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Carbon-rich dust past the asymptotic giant branch: aliphatics, aromatics, and fullerenes in the Magellanic Clouds
Authors:
G. C. Sloan,
E. Lagadec,
A. A. Zijlstra,
K. E. Kraemer,
A. P. Weis,
M. Matsuura,
K. Volk,
E. Peeters,
W. W. Duley,
J. Cami,
J. Bernard-Salas,
F. Kemper,
R. Sahai
Abstract:
Infrared spectra of carbon-rich objects which have evolved off the asymptotic giant branch reveal a range of dust properties, including fullerenes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), aliphatic hydrocarbons, and several unidentified features, including the 21 um emission feature. To test for the presence of fullerenes, we used the position and width of the feature at 18.7-18.9 um and examined…
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Infrared spectra of carbon-rich objects which have evolved off the asymptotic giant branch reveal a range of dust properties, including fullerenes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), aliphatic hydrocarbons, and several unidentified features, including the 21 um emission feature. To test for the presence of fullerenes, we used the position and width of the feature at 18.7-18.9 um and examined other features at 17.4 and 6-9 um. This method adds three new fullerene sources to the known sample, but it also calls into question three previous identifications. We confirm that the strong 11 um features seen in some sources arise primarily from SiC, which may exist as a coating around carbonaceous cores and result from photo-processing. Spectra showing the 21 um feature usually show the newly defined Class D PAH profile at 7-9 um. These spectra exhibit unusual PAH profiles at 11-14 um, with weak contributions at 12.7 um, which we define as Class D1, or show features shifted to ~11.4, 12.4, and 13.2 um, which we define as Class D2. Alkyne hydrocarbons match the 15.8 um feature associated with 21 um emission. Sources showing fullerene emission but no PAHs have blue colors in the optical, suggesting a clear line of sight to the central source. Spectra with 21 um features and Class D2 PAH emission also show photometric evidence for a relatively clear line of sight to the central source. The multiple associations of the 21 um feature to aliphatic hydrocarbons suggest that the carrier is related to this material in some way.
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Submitted 26 June, 2014;
originally announced June 2014.
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The 217.5 nm band, infrared absorption and infrared emission features in hydrogenated amorphous carbon nanoparticles
Authors:
W. W. Duley,
Anming Hu
Abstract:
We report on the preparation of hydrogenated amorphous carbon nano-particles whose spectral characteristics include an absorption band at 217.5 nm with the profile and characteristics of the interstellar 217.5 nm feature. Vibrational spectra of these particles also contain the features commonly observed in absorption and emission from dust in the diffuse interstellar medium. These materials are pr…
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We report on the preparation of hydrogenated amorphous carbon nano-particles whose spectral characteristics include an absorption band at 217.5 nm with the profile and characteristics of the interstellar 217.5 nm feature. Vibrational spectra of these particles also contain the features commonly observed in absorption and emission from dust in the diffuse interstellar medium. These materials are produced under slow deposition conditions by minimizing the flux of incident carbon atoms and by reducing surface mobility. The initial chemistry leads to the formation of carbon chains, together with a limited range of small aromatic ring molecules, and eventually results in carbon nano-particles having an sp2/sp3 ratio = 0.4. Spectroscopic analysis of particle composition indicates that naphthalene and naphthalene derivatives are important constituents of this material. We suggest that carbon nano-particles with similar composition are responsible for the appearance of the interstellar 217.5 nm band and outline how these particles can form in situ under diffuse cloud conditions by deposition of carbon on the surface of silicate grains. Spectral data from carbon nano-particles formed under these conditions accurately reproduces IR emission spectra from a number of Galactic sources. We provide the first detailed fits to observational spectra of Type A and B emission sources based entirely on measured spectra of a carbonaceous material that can be produced in the laboratory.
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Submitted 11 October, 2012;
originally announced October 2012.
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Fullerenes and proto-fullerenes in interstellar carbon dust
Authors:
Walter W. Duley,
Anming Hu
Abstract:
Laboratory spectra of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (HAC) particles prepared under a variety of conditions show spectral features at 7.05, 8.5, 17.4 and 18.9 μm (1418, 1176, 575 & 529 cm-1) that have been associated with emission from C60 molecules. These lines occur in the spectra even though C60 molecules as such are not present in our samples. It appears that these four spectral lines in HAC ca…
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Laboratory spectra of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (HAC) particles prepared under a variety of conditions show spectral features at 7.05, 8.5, 17.4 and 18.9 μm (1418, 1176, 575 & 529 cm-1) that have been associated with emission from C60 molecules. These lines occur in the spectra even though C60 molecules as such are not present in our samples. It appears that these four spectral lines in HAC can instead be associated with precursor molecules or "proto-fullerenes" that subsequently react to yield C60. We develop a model tracing the evolution and de-hydrogenation of HAC dust and show that the observation of an emission feature at 16.4 μm (610 cm-1) in astronomical spectra signals the presence of the pentagonal carbon rings required for the formation of fullerenes. We suggest that the set of four IR emission lines previously identified with C60 in many objects that also show the 16.4 μm feature and other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon bands arise from proto-fullerenes rather than C60. Tc1 is an example of a source in which de-hydrogenation has proceeded to the point where only fullerenes are present.
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Submitted 16 December, 2011;
originally announced December 2011.
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Excitation of the aromatic infrared emission bands: Chemical energy in hydrogenated amorphous carbon particles?
Authors:
Walter W. Duley,
David A. Williams
Abstract:
We outline a model for the heating of hydrogenated amorphous (HAC) dust via the release of stored chemical energy and show that this energy (~12 kJ/mole) is sufficient to heat dust grains of classical size (50-1000 Å) to temperatures at which they can emit at 3.3 μm and other "UIR" wavelengths. Using laboratory data, we show that this heating process is consistent with a concentration of a few per…
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We outline a model for the heating of hydrogenated amorphous (HAC) dust via the release of stored chemical energy and show that this energy (~12 kJ/mole) is sufficient to heat dust grains of classical size (50-1000 Å) to temperatures at which they can emit at 3.3 μm and other "UIR" wavelengths. Using laboratory data, we show that this heating process is consistent with a concentration of a few percent of dangling bonds in HAC and may be initiated by the recombination of trapped H atoms. We suggest that the release of chemical energy from dust represents an additional source of excitation for the UIR bands relaxing the previous requirement that only stochastically heated molecules having fewer than ~ 50 atoms can produce emission at 3.3 μm.
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Submitted 19 July, 2011;
originally announced July 2011.
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Infrared Spectra of Dehydrogenated Carbon Molecules
Authors:
S. Kuzmin,
W. W. Duley
Abstract:
The detection of fullerene molecules in a variety of astrophysical environments suggests that smaller dehydrogenated carbon molecules may also be present in these sources. One of these is planar C24 which has been shown to be more stable than the cage fullerene with the same number of carbon atoms. To facilitate searches for C24 and some simple derivatives we have calculated infrared spectra for t…
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The detection of fullerene molecules in a variety of astrophysical environments suggests that smaller dehydrogenated carbon molecules may also be present in these sources. One of these is planar C24 which has been shown to be more stable than the cage fullerene with the same number of carbon atoms. To facilitate searches for C24 and some simple derivatives we have calculated infrared spectra for these molecules using first principles density functional techniques (DFT). Infrared spectra are also presented for several novel carbon cage molecules formed from dehydrogenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon molecules. Infrared spectra of a number of these molecules are quite distinctive and we discuss the possibility of detecting these species in the presence of C60 and other fullerenes.
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Submitted 15 March, 2011;
originally announced March 2011.
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The unusual hydrocarbon emission from the early carbon star HD 100764: The connection between aromatics and aliphatics
Authors:
G. C. Sloan,
M. Jura,
W. W. Duley,
K. E. Kraemer,
J. Bernard-Salas,
W. J. Forrest,
B. Sargent,
A. Li,
D. J. Barry,
C. J. Bohac,
D. M. Watson,
J. R. Houck
Abstract:
We have used the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) on the Spitzer Space Telescope to obtain spectra of HD 100764, an apparently single carbon star with a circumstellar disk. The spectrum shows emission features from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that are shifted to longer wavelengths than normally seen, as characteristic of ``class C'' systems in the classification scheme of Peeters et al. A…
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We have used the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) on the Spitzer Space Telescope to obtain spectra of HD 100764, an apparently single carbon star with a circumstellar disk. The spectrum shows emission features from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that are shifted to longer wavelengths than normally seen, as characteristic of ``class C'' systems in the classification scheme of Peeters et al. All seven of the known class C PAH sources are illuminated by radiation fields that are cooler than those which typically excite PAH emission features. The observed wavelength shifts are consistent with hydrocarbon mixtures containing both aromatic and aliphatic bonds. We propose that the class C PAH spectra are distinctive because the carbonaceous material has not been subjected to a strong ultraviolet radiation field, allowing relatively fragile aliphatic materials to survive.
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Submitted 7 May, 2007;
originally announced May 2007.