The formation of cosmic fullerenes from arophatic clusters

TL;DR

This paper proposes a new pathway for the formation of cosmic fullerenes through UV processing of arophatic carbon clusters in planetary nebulae, explaining their presence in space.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mechanism where UV irradiation of arophatic clusters leads to fullerene formation in astrophysical environments.

Findings

UV irradiation of arophatic clusters produces fullerenes

The process is consistent with conditions in planetary nebulae

Explains the presence of fullerenes in space environments

Abstract

Fullerenes have recently been identified in space and they may play a significant role in the gas and dust budget of various astrophysical objects including planetary nebulae (PNe), reflection nebulae (RNe) and H II regions. The tenuous nature of the gas in these environments precludes the formation of fullerene materials following known vaporization or combustion synthesis routes even on astronomical timescales. We have studied the processing of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H or HAC) nano-particles and their specific derivative structures, which we name "arophatics", in the circumstellar environments of young, carbon-rich PNe. We find that UV-irradiation of such particles can result in the formation of fullerenes, consistent with the known physical conditions in PNe and with available timescales.