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第一批使用人类历史上最敏感和最强大的眼睛研究红外（IR）宇宙的科学家之一。在JWST将提供的许多令人惊叹的图像中编码的是一种独特的含碳化合物的指纹：巴基球-一种由60个碳原子排列成足球形状的化合物。巴基球是太空中已知的最大分子，也是“芳香族”分子中唯一被确认的成员--芳香族分子的微观结构类似于蜂窝图案。芳香分子含有宇宙中所有碳的15%。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恶劣、高度辐射的环境中特别茁壮成长。事实上，它们变成了高效的分子机器，可以有效地将高能紫外线辐射转化为低能红外光，并且它们还可以根据条件的需要喷射或捕获电子或氢原子。这使得它们成为一类超稳定的物种，通过改变辐射场和气体温度来显著影响其周围环境。因此，这些微观粒子在星星形成和星系演化等大尺度过程中起着关键作用。然而，虽然我们在许多不同的宇宙环境中看到了巴基球，但我们不知道它们是如何形成的，我们对导致它们在红外线中发光的物理过程的理解也不完全。它的视力非常敏锐，可以很容易地精确定位巴克球发射的位置。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。我将分析不同天体的观测结果，并创建模型，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物质，拟议的研究将大大提高对宇宙有机物清单的认识，特别是在星星和行星形成的区域，以及对星际介质的演变，从而对星系的演变的认识。

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.