Formation and Evolution of Circumstellar and Interstellar PAHs: A Laboratory Study

NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA

Abstract

Studies of dust analogs formed from hydrocarbon (CH₄, C₂H₂, C₂H₄, C₂H₆) and PAH precursors have been performed using a new facility that we have developed to simulate interstellar and circumstellar processes. The species formed in a plasma are detected, characterized and monitored in situ with high-sensitivity techniques, which provide both spectroscopic and ion mass information. From these measurements we derive information on the nature, the size and the structure of dust particles, as well as a better understanding of the growth and destruction processes of extraterrestrial dust.