Gas phase formation of c-SiC3 molecules in the circumstellar envelope of carbon stars.

ABSTRACT: Complex organosilicon molecules are ubiquitous in the circumstellar envelope of the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star IRC+10216, but their formation mechanisms have remained largely elusive until now. These processes are of fundamental importance in initiating a chain of chemical reactions leading eventually to the formation of organosilicon molecules-among them key precursors to silicon carbide grains-in the circumstellar shell contributing critically to the galactic carbon and silicon budgets with up to 80% of the ejected materials infused into the interstellar medium. Here we demonstrate via a combined experimental, computational, and modeling study that distinct chemistries in the inner and outer envelope of a carbon star can lead to the synthesis of circumstellar silicon tricarbide (

SUBMITTER: Yang T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6642343 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature