Iron Complexes as Potential Carriers of Diffuse Interstellar Bands: The Photodissociation Spectrum of Fe⁺(H₂O) at Optical Wavelengths.

ABSTRACT: The fullerene ion C₆₀⁺ is the only carrier of diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) identified so far. Transition-metal compounds feature electronic transitions in the visible and near-infrared regions, making them potential DIB carriers. Since iron is the most abundant transition metal in the cosmos, we here test this idea with Fe⁺(H₂O). Laboratory spectra were obtained by photodissociation spectroscopy at 80 K. Spectra were modeled with the reflection principle. A high-resolution spectrum of the DIB standard star HD 183143 served as an observational reference. Two broad bands were observed from 4120 to 6800 Å. The 4120-4800 Å band has sharp features emerging from the background, which have the width of DIBs but do not match the band positions of th

SUBMITTER: Juanes M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10895653 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature