The role and diversity of fullerenes in space

宇宙包含各种各样的碳质分子和尘埃颗粒，它们最初是在红巨星周围形成的，当它们将外层包层喷射到星际介质中时。这种碳质物质经过进一步的处理，首先通过强烈的紫外线辐射，当炽热的恒星核心暴露出来，并以行星星云的形式照亮周围的物质；然后通过高能辐射和星际介质中的粒子。只有最稳定的物种，如荞球，才能在严酷的太空中生存下来。最终，这种物质以巨型分子云的形式聚集在一起，在其中形成了下一代恒星和行星--从而播撒了红巨星抛出的分子和尘埃。 天文学家可以研究遥远的分子和尘埃颗粒，因为每一个物种都会在星光中留下一种特定的颜色模式(“光谱指纹”)。最近，我的研究团队在对行星状星云的观测中发现了确凿无疑的巴基球光谱指纹。巴克球(又称巴克明斯特富勒烯或C60)是由60个碳原子组成的微小颗粒，形状像足球。最近，已经被证明是带电的巴克球(C60+)造成了四个“弥散星际带”(DIBS)，这是一组数以百计的神秘光谱指纹，每当星光被星际气体和尘埃云遮挡时，我们就会看到这些指纹。这是第一次，也是唯一一次，这些突出的星际指纹被明确地确定为特定的分子，这表明巴克球在我们的银河系中无处不在，而且数量丰富。虽然近年来我们已经了解了很多关于宇宙巴克球的知识，但我们还不知道它们是如何形成的，同时还形成了哪些其他相关的分子结构，或者是哪些其他稳定的物种负责其余的DIBS。回答这些问题对于我们理解宇宙中碳质物质的清单--我们的宇宙根源--至关重要。 我提出了一个研究计划，将确定导致巴克球和其他含碳物质在太空中形成的准确条件和化学途径。我将通过分析量身定做的、最先进的天文观测，以及为行星状星云中碳质物种的形成开发详细的天体化学模型来实现这一点。我还将制作有史以来最大和最详细的DIB目录，以找到与C60相关的任何DIB，并将DIB转换为对其环境的强大探测器。 这项研究将揭示宇宙中一些最坚硬的碳质材料，并阐明目前未知的形成它们的途径。这些工艺对材料科学研究人员和制造业都很重要。它还将把几名年轻的研究人员培养成拥有加拿大工业界非常需要的技能的数据科学家。

The Universe contains a wide variety of carbonaceous molecules and dust grains that are first formed around red giant stars when they eject their outer envelopes into the interstellar medium. This carbonaceous material is further processed, first by intense UV radiation when the hot stellar core is exposed and lights up the surrounding material as a planetary nebula; later by energetic radiation and particles in the interstellar medium. Only the most stable species, such as buckyballs, can survive the rigors of space. Eventually, this material collects in the form of giant molecular clouds in which the next generation of stars and planets are formed - seeded thus with the molecules and dust ejected by red giant stars. Astronomers can study distant molecules and dust grains because each species imprints a specific color pattern (“spectral fingerprint”) in starlight. Recently, my research team discovered the unmistakable spectral fingerprint of buckyballs in observations of a planetary nebula. Buckyballs (also known as buckminsterfullerene or C60) are microscopic particles composed of 60 carbon atoms, shaped like a soccer ball. Very recently, it has been proven that charged buckyballs (C60+) are responsible for four of the “diffuse interstellar bands” (DIBs), a set of hundreds of mysterious spectral fingerprints that we see whenever starlight is dimmed by intervening clouds of interstellar gas and dust. This is the first - and only - time that any of these prominent interstellar fingerprints has been unambiguously identified with a specific molecule, demonstrating that buckyballs are ubiquitous and abundant in our galaxy. Although we have learned much about cosmic buckyballs in recent years, we do not yet understand how they form, what other related molecular structures form at the same time, or what other stable species is responsible for the rest of the DIBs. Answering those questions is essential for our understanding of the inventory of carbonaceous materials in the Universe - our cosmic roots. I propose a research program that will determine the precise conditions and chemical pathways that lead to the formation of buckyballs and other carbonaceous materials in space. I will do this by analyzing tailored, state-of-the-art astronomical observations, and by developing detailed astrochemical models for the formation of carbonaceous species in planetary nebulae. I will also produce the largest and most detailed DIB catalog ever, to find any DIBs that are related to C60, and to turn the DIBs into powerful probes of their environment. This research will reveal some of the hardiest carbonaceous materials in the Universe and elucidate the currently unknown pathways to form them. These processes are important to materials science researchers and the manufacturing industry. It will also turn several young researchers into data scientists with skills that are highly desired in Canadian industry.