Invited_talk abstract details
Molecular processes from the AGB to the PN stage
Abstract
A large variety of complex organic molecules and inorganic solid-state compounds
have been observed to emerge in the circumstellar environment of stars (both
C-rich and O-rich) in the transition phase between Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB)
stars and Planetary Nebulae (PNe), following the formation of gas-phase
molecules and inorganic solid-state compounds in the previous AGB phase. The
~100-10,000 years of evolution following the end of the AGB phase represents a
most fascinating laboratory for astrochemistry and provides severe constraints
on any model of gas-phase and solid-state chemistry. One of the major challenges
of present day astrophysics and astrochemistry is to understand the formation
pathways of these complex organic molecules and inorganic solid-state compounds
(e.g., polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) and fullerenes in the case of a
C-rich chemistry and oxides and crystalline silicates in O-rich environments) in
space. In this talk, I will present an observational review of the molecular
processes in the late stages of stellar evolution with a special emphasis on the
formation of PAHs and fullerenes as well as the possible carrier candidates of
the unidentified 21, 26, and 30 micron features usually observed in post-AGB
stars and young PNe.
have been observed to emerge in the circumstellar environment of stars (both
C-rich and O-rich) in the transition phase between Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB)
stars and Planetary Nebulae (PNe), following the formation of gas-phase
molecules and inorganic solid-state compounds in the previous AGB phase. The
~100-10,000 years of evolution following the end of the AGB phase represents a
most fascinating laboratory for astrochemistry and provides severe constraints
on any model of gas-phase and solid-state chemistry. One of the major challenges
of present day astrophysics and astrochemistry is to understand the formation
pathways of these complex organic molecules and inorganic solid-state compounds
(e.g., polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) and fullerenes in the case of a
C-rich chemistry and oxides and crystalline silicates in O-rich environments) in
space. In this talk, I will present an observational review of the molecular
processes in the late stages of stellar evolution with a special emphasis on the
formation of PAHs and fullerenes as well as the possible carrier candidates of
the unidentified 21, 26, and 30 micron features usually observed in post-AGB
stars and young PNe.