Abstract
We review the current information on the unique group of visibleemission bands known as the Red Rectangle bands (RRBs). A laboratoryspectrum exactly matching these bands is not yet available; however, thereis sufficient reason to hypothesize phosphorescence from C3 asthe source. The points in favor of the C3/RRB hypothesis canbe summarized as follows: (1) The RRBs are found in the spatial locationwhere carbonaceous grains are being impinged upon by a bipolar outflow. (2)C3 is known to accompany circumstellar carbon grains and mayconstitute a ‘magic’ fragment in the UV photofragmentation ofCn clusters. (3) Our recent observation of the spin-forbiddenCO Cameron emission bands in this object suggests that charged particleimpact excites triplet states. (4) The energy of the lowest triplet state ofC3 is known to be very close to that of the RRBs. (5) The RRBsdisplay a vibrational spacing that is quantitatively consistent withC3, including a rare negative anharmonicity.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bondybey, V.E. and English, J.H.: 1978, J. Chem. Phys. 68, 4641.
Cohen, M., et al.: 1975, Astrophys. J. 196, 179.
Drowart, J., et al.: 1959, J. Phys. Chem. 31, 1131.
Fossey, S.J.: 1991, Nature 353, 393.
Fulara, J., Lessen, D., Freivogel, P. and Maier, J.P.: 1993, Nature 366, 439.
Furton, D.G. and Witt, A.N.: 1993, Astrophys. J. 415, L51.
Gausset, L., Herzberg, G., Lagerqvist, A. and Rosen, B.: 1965, Astrophys. J. 142, 45.
Geusic, M.E., et al.: 1986, J. Chem. Phys. 84, 2421.
Glinski, R.J., Nuth, J.A., Reese, M. and Sitko, M.L.: 1996, Astrophys. J., 461, L109.
Herzberg, G.: 1966, Molecular Spectra and Molecular Structure, III. Electronic Spectra and Electronic Structure of Polyatomic Molecules, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 136–181.
Hinkle, K.W., Keady, J.J. and Bernath, P.F.: 1988, Science 241, 1319.
Hollas, J.M.: 1982, High Resolution Spectroscopy, Butterworths, London, 319–321 & 388–395.
Jacox, M.E.: 1994, J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data, Monograph 3.
Kalcher, J. and Janoschek, R.: 1991, Theochem. J. Molec. Struct. 234, 509.
Lawrence, G.M.: 1971, Chem. Phys. Lett. 9, 575.
Maier, J.P.: 1979, in: P. Ausloos (ed.), Kinetics of Ion Molecule Reactions, Plenum, New York, 437.
Meyer, J.A., Stedman, D.H. and Setser, D.W.: 1972, J. Mol. Spectrosc. 44, 206.
Miles, J.R. and Sarre, P.J.: 1993, J. Chem. Soc. Faraday Trans. 89, 2269.
Rao, N.K. and Lambert, D.L.: 1993, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 263, L27.
Rohlfing, E.A.: 1989, J. Chem. Phys. 91, 4531.
Rohlfing, E.A. and Goldsmith, J.E.M.: 1990, J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 7, 1915.
Sarre, P.J.: 1991, Nature 351, 356.
Sarre, et al.: 1995, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 277, L41.
Sarre, P.J., Miles, J.R. and Scarrott, S.M.: 1995, Science 269, 674.
Scarrott, S.M., Watkin, S., Miles, J.R. and Sarre, P.J.: 1992, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 255, 11P.
Schmidt, G.D., Cohen, M. and Margon, B.: 1980, Astrophys. J. 239, L133.
Schmidt, G.D. and Witt, A.N.: 1991, Astrophys. J. 383, 698.
Smith, A.M., Agreiter, J., Härtle, M., Engel, C. and Bondybey, V.E.: 1994, Chem. Phys. 189, 315.
Szczepanski, J. and Vala, M.: 1993, J. Chem. Phys. 99, 7371.
Warren-Smith, R.F., Scarrott, S.M. and Murdin, P.: 1981, Nature 292, 317.
Watson, J.K.G.: 1994, Astrophys. J. 437, 678.
Webster, A.: 1980, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 192, 7P.
Weltner, W., Jr. and McLeod, D., Jr.: 1964, J. Chem. Phys. 40, 1305.
Weltner, W., Jr. and Van Zee, R.J.: 1989, Chem. Rev. 89, 1713.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Glinski, R.J., Nuth, III, J.A. Can the Red Rectangle Molecular Emission Bands Be Assigned to C?. Astrophysics and Space Science 249, 143–149 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1000355313422
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1000355313422