Abstract.We have computed physical parameters such as density, degree of ionization and temperature, constrained by a large observational data set on atomic and molecular species, for the line of sight toward the single cloud HD 147889. Diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) produced along this line of sight are well documented and can be used to test the PAH hypothesis. To this effect, the charge state fractions of different polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are calculated in HD 147889 as a function of depth for the derived density, electron abundance and temperature profile. As input for the construction of these charge state distributions, the microscopic properties of the PAHs, e.g., ionization potential and electron affinity, are determined for a series of symmetry groups. The combination of a physical model for the chemical and thermal balance of the gas toward HD 147889 with a detailed treatment of the PAH charge state distribution, and laboratory and theoretical data on specific PAHs, allow us to compute electronic spectra of gas phase PAH molecules and to draw conclusions about the required properties of PAHs as DIB carriers. We find the following. 1) The variation of the total charge state distribution of each specific class (series) of PAH in the translucent cloud toward HD 147889 (and also of course for any other diffuse/translucent cloud) depends strongly on the molecular symmetry and size (number of π electrons). This is due to the strong effects of these parameters on the ionization potential of a PAH. 2) Different wavelength regions in the DIB spectrum are populated preferentially by different PAH charge states depending on the underlying PAH size distribution. 3) The PAH size distribution for HD 147889 is constrained by the observed DIB spectrum to be Gaussian with a mean of 50 carbon atoms.

Detection of Diffuse Interstellar Bands in the Magellanic Clouds Ehrenfreund, P.; Cami, J.; Jimenez-Vicente, J.; Foing, B.H.; Kaper, L.; van der Meer, A.; Cox, N.L.J.; d' Hendecourt, L.; Maier, J.P.; Salama, F.ABSTRACT With the Ultraviolet Visual Echelle Spectrograph mounted at the Very Large Telescope, we have observed at unprecedented spectral resolution the absorption spectrum toward reddened stars in the Magellanic Clouds over the wavelength range of 3500-10500 Å . This range covers the strong transitions associated with neutral and charged large carbon molecules of varying sizes and structures. We report the first detection of diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) at 5780 and 5797 Å in the Small Magellanic Cloud and the variation of the 6284 Å DIB toward several targets in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The variation of DIBs in the Magellanic Clouds compared with Galactic targets may be governed by a combination of the different chemical processes prevailing in low-metallicity regions and the local environmental conditions.

Recent advances in laboratory spectroscopy lead to the claim of ionized Buckminsterfullerene (C + 60 ) as the carrier of two diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) in the near-infrared. However, irrefutable identification of interstellar C + 60 requires a match between the wavelengths and the expected strengths of all absorption features detectable in the laboratory and in space. Here we present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) spectra of the region covering the C + 60 9348, 9365, 9428 and 9577 Å absorption bands toward seven heavily-reddened stars. We focus in particular on searching for the weaker laboratory C + 60 bands, the very presence of which has been a matter for recent debate. Using the novel STIS-scanning technique to obtain ultra-high signal-to-noise spectra without contamination from telluric absorption that afflicted previous ground-based observations, we obtained reliable detections of the (weak) 9365, 9428 Å and (strong) 9577 Å C + 60 bands. The band wavelengths and strength ratios are sufficiently similar to those determined in the latest laboratory experiments that we consider this the first robust identification of the 9428 Å band, and a conclusive confirmation of interstellar C + 60 .

In this work we present the results of a systematic search for diffuse bands (DBs, hereafter) in the circumstellar envelopes of a carefully selected sample of post-AGB stars. We concentrated on analyzing 9 of the DBs most commonly found in the interstellar medium. The strength of these features is determined using high-resolution optical spectroscopy, and the results obtained are compared with literature data on field stars affected only by interstellar reddening. Based on the weak features observed in the subsample of post-AGB stars dominated by circumstellar reddening, we conclude that the carrier(s) of these DBs must not be present in the circumstellar environment of these sources, or at least not under the excitation conditions in which DBs are formed. This conclusion is applicable to all the post-AGB stars studied, irrespective of the dominant chemistry or the spectral type of the star considered. A detailed radial velocity analysis of the features observed in individual sources confirms this result, as the Doppler shifts measured are found to be consistent with an interstellar origin.