Detection of C60 in circumstellar environments

Yong Zhang & Sun Kwok

The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Buckminsterfullerene (C60) was recently discovered in the infrared spectra of a series of circumstellar envelopes. Given their remarkable stability, C60 and its derivatives are presumably able to survive during the envelope dispersion into the interstellar medium (ISM), and thus are believed to be ubiquitous in the ISM. They play an important role in the galactic matter cycle, and are likely to be the carrier of the diffuse interstellar bands. However, fundamental mysteries remain regarding how fullerenes are formed in circumstellar environments, what is the excitation mechanism of C60 infrared bands, and what is the connection between C60 and the carriers of unidentified infrared emission. Here we briefly review recent progress in addressing these questions.

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