Small PAHs in the Red Rectangle
Uma P. Vijh, Adolf N. Witt (University of Toledo), and Karl D. Gordon, (University of Arizona)

TL;DR
This study provides evidence for small PAH molecules in the Red Rectangle, linking their fluorescence to blue luminescence and analyzing the unique circumstellar attenuation curve, revealing their abundance and environmental shielding.
Contribution
It demonstrates the spatial correlation between blue luminescence and 3.3 micron emission, confirming the presence of small PAHs and deriving a unique circumstellar attenuation curve.
Findings
Small PAHs are present in the Red Rectangle.
Blue luminescence correlates with 3.3 micron emission.
The circumstellar attenuation curve is distinct from interstellar curves.
Abstract
Following our initial discovery of blue luminescence in the spectrum of the Red Rectangle (RR) and its identification as fluorescence by small three- to four-ringed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules, we report on the spatial correlation between the blue luminescence and the 3.3 micron emission, commonly attributed to small, neutral PAH molecules, and on the newly-derived UV/optical attenuation curve for the central source of the RR, HD 44179. Both results provide strong additional evidence for the presence of small PAH molecules with masses of less than 250 a.m.u. in the RR, which supports the attribution of the blue luminescence to fluorescence by the same molecules. We contrast the excellent spatial correlation of the two former emissions with the distinctly different spatial distribution of the extended red emission (ERE) and of the dust-scattered light within the RR.…
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Taxonomy
TopicsAstrophysics and Star Formation Studies · Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies · Atomic and Molecular Physics
