European Conference on Laboratory Astrophysics ECLA2020
Book subtitle
The Interplay of Dust, Ice, and Gas in Space
ISBN
9783031290022
ISBN (electronic)
9783031290039
Series
Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings
Event
European Conference on Laboratory Astrophysics, ECLA 2020
Pages (from-to)
177-181
Publisher
Cham: Springer
Organisations
Faculty of Science (FNWI) - Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences (HIMS)
Faculty of Science (FNWI) - Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy (API)
Abstract
We report a computational study of the stability and infrared (IR) vibrational spectra of neutral and singly ionized fullerene cages containing between 44 and 70 carbon atoms. The stability is characterized via the HOMO-LUMO gap and the energy required to eliminate a C2 fragments. The comparison between the simulated IR spectra of some small cages and the astronomical spectrum of fullerene-rich planetary nebulae points out a possible presence of these molecules. The confirmation of our finding might be possible thanks to James Webb Space Telescope.