The interaction of cosmic fullerenes with their environment:confronting models with observations

在詹姆斯·韦伯太空望远镜(JWST)于2021年10月31日发射后不久，加拿大天文学家将成为首批使用人类历史上最灵敏、最强大的眼睛研究红外(IR)宇宙的科学家之一。JWST将提供的许多令人惊叹的图像中编码的是一种独特的碳质化合物的指纹：巴克球-一种由60个碳原子排列成足球形状的化合物。巴克球是已知的太空中最大的分子，也是唯一被识别的芳香分子--其微观结构类似于蜂巢图案的物种。芳香族分子含有宇宙中约15%的碳。它们的结构赋予了它们“超能力”，使它们能够在太空中一些最严酷、辐射最强的环境中茁壮成长。事实上，它们变成了多产的分子机器，可以高效地将高能紫外线辐射转化为低能量红外光，还可以根据条件要求射出或捕获电子或氢原子。这使它们成为一类超级稳定的物种，通过改变辐射场和气体温度，进一步显著影响它们周围的环境。因此，这些微观粒子在恒星形成和星系演化等大范围过程中发挥着关键作用。然而，虽然我们在许多不同的宇宙环境中看到了巴克球，但我们不知道它们是如何形成的，我们对导致它们在红外光谱中发光的物理过程也没有完全的了解。由于联合专家委员会的观察，这种情况将会改变。它的视野如此锐利，以至于它可以很容易地精确地定位巴克斯球的发射位置。它还将为我们提供有关这些地点的物理条件的详细信息，以及巴基球指纹的精细详细的光谱特征。我将对不同天体的观测结果进行分析，并建立模型，从根本上理解导致这些观测光谱特征的物理过程。由于同样的过程将影响空间中的所有芳香族物种，拟议的研究将大大改善对宇宙有机清单的理解，特别是在恒星和行星形成区域，以及星际介质的演化，从而导致星系的演化。

Shortly after the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) launches on October 31st, 2021, Canadian astronomers will be among the first scientists to study the infrared (IR) Universe using the most sensitive and powerful eyes on the skies in human history. Encoded in the many breathtaking images that JWST will provide, are the fingerprints of a unique carbonaceous compound: buckyballs - a compound made of 60 carbon atoms arranged in the shape of a soccer balls. Buckyballs are the largest molecules known in space, and they are the only identified members of the "aromatic" molecules - species whose microscopic structure resembles honeycomb patterns. Aromatic molecules contain about 15% of all the carbon in the Universe. Their structure gives them "superpowers" that allow them to thrive especially well in some of the harshest, highly irradiated environments in space. In fact, they turn into productive molecular machines that efficiently convert high-energy UV radiation into lower energy infrared light, and they can also eject or capture electrons or hydrogen atoms as the conditions demand. This makes them a class of super-stable species that furthermore significantly affect their immediate surroundings by changing the radiation field and the temperature of the gas. Consequently, these microscopic particles play key roles in large-scale processes such as star formation and galaxy evolution. However, while we have seen buckyballs in many different cosmic environments, we do not know how they form, and we have an incomplete understanding of the physical processes that cause them to glow in the IR. This will change owing to observations with the JWST. Its vision is so sharp, that it can easily pinpoint precisely where buckyballs are emitting. It will also provide us with detailed information about the physical conditions at those locations as well as exquisitely detailed spectral characteristics of the buckyball's fingerprints. I will analyze those observations for different astrophysical objects, and create models to fundamentally understand the physical processes that lead to these observed spectral characteristics. Since the same processes will affect all aromatic species in space, the proposed research will lead to a much improved understanding of the cosmic organic inventory, especially in regions of star and planet formation, and of the evolution of the interstellar medium and thus the evolution of galaxies.