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Carbonaceous compounds in interstellar dust

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Abstract

SEVERAL infrared bands found recently in astronomical sources have not been assigned to specific substances in a convincing way (see refs 1–6). Resonance features in solids seem to be the most plausible emission and absorption mechanisms, but the features cannot be identified with known or suspected compounds in the interstellar dust grains such as silicates, water ice, silicon carbide, or graphite. We propose here a new substance, consisting of carbonaceous material, which may be responsible for some or all of the unidentified infrared features.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Space Sciences, State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York, 11794

    R. F. KNACKE

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  1. R. F. KNACKE
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KNACKE, R. Carbonaceous compounds in interstellar dust. Nature 269, 132–134 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/269132a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/269132a0

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