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Formation and Evolution of Solids in Space pp 29–52Cite as

The Nature and Evolution of Interstellar Organics

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Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASIC,volume 523))

Abstract

Infrared spectroscopy of solid state absorption features in dense and diffuse interstellar clouds has greatly advanced our understanding of the composition of dust in these regions. However, serious questions regarding the evolution of dust grains have now developed as a result of recent compositional discoveries. The creation of complex organic refractory material on or in icy mantles of grains residing in the protected environs of dense molecular clouds is thought to be the pathway by which organic carriers are formed. Two absorption features in particular, one near 3.4 µm and another near 4.62 µm have been attributed to an organic refractory residue which can be produced by ultraviolet photolysis of interstellar ices. However, even though the production site for both features is expected to occur within dense molecular clouds, these features are observed in very different physical regimes of the interstellar medium (ISM). The 3.4 µm feature is observed in the low density, low temperature portion of the diffuse ISM, and the 4.62 µm feature is observed towards embedded protostars in high density molecular clouds. Dust grains are thought to cycle between the dense and diffuse clouds fairly efficiently and on rather short timescales, thus the noteworthy absence of the diffuse ISM 3.4µm hydrocarbon absorption band and the unique presence of the 4.62 µm band in the spectra of dense molecular cloud objects presents difficulties for the production site and/or the cycling efficiency. In this paper, we focus on comparisons between the dense and diffuse clouds which specifically address the nature and evolution of the organic component of interstellar dust. A greater understanding of the origin and distribution of interstellar organics is essential in any evaluation of the organic inventory available for incorporation into planetary systems and the precursor planetesimal stage.

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  1. Jean E. Chiar

    Present address: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, 94035, USA

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  1. Department of Physics, Applied Physics & Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, 12180, USA

    Jean E. Chiar

  2. NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, 94035, USA

    Yvonne J. Pendleton

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  1. Laboratory Astrophysics, University of Leiden, Leiden, The Netherlands

    J. Mayo Greenberg  & Aigen Li  & 

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Chiar, J.E., Pendleton, Y.J. (1999). The Nature and Evolution of Interstellar Organics. In: Greenberg, J.M., Li, A. (eds) Formation and Evolution of Solids in Space. NATO ASI Series, vol 523. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4806-1_2

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