Abstract
The diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) are absorption bands seen in the spectra of stars obscured by interstellar dust. DIBs are recognized as a tracer for free, organic molecules in the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM). The potential molecular carriers for the DIBs are discussed with an emphasis on neutral and ionized polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) for which the most focused effort has been made to date. From the combined astronomical, laboratory and theoretical study, it is concluded that a distribution of free neutral and ionized complex organics (PAHs, fullerenes, unsaturated hydrocarbons) represents the most promising class of candidates to account for the DIBs. The case for aromatic hydrocarbons appears particularly strong. The implied widespread distribution of complex organics in the diffuse ISM bears profound implications for our understanding of the chemical complexity of the ISM, the evolution of prebiotic molecules and its impact on the origin and the evolution of life on early Earth through the exogenous delivery (cometary encounters and metoritic bombardments) of prebiotic organics.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Allamandola, L. J., Bernstein, M. P. and Sandford, S. A.: 1997 in C. B. Cosmovici, S. Bowyer and D. Werthimer (eds)., Astronomical and Biochemical Origins and the Search for Life in the Universe, IAU Colloquium 161, Editrice Compository, p. 23.
Allamandola, L. J., Tielens, A. G. G. M. and Barker, J. R.: 1989, Astrophys. J. Suppl. 71, 733.
Clemett, S. J., Messenger, S., Chillier, X. D. F., Gao, X., Walker, R. M. and Zare, R. N.: 1994, Lunar Planet. Sci. 26, 229.
Crawford, M. K., Tielens, A. G. G. M. and Allamandola, L. J.: 1985, Astrophys. J. 293, L45.
Davis, W. L. and McKay, C. P.: 1996, Origins Life Evol. Biosphere 26, 61.
de Duve, C.: 1997, in C. B. Cosmovici, S. Bowyer and D. Werthimer (eds.), Astronomical and Biochemical Origins and the Search for Life in the Universe, IAU Colloquium 161, Editrice Compository, p. 391.
Douglas, A. E.: 1977, Nature 269, 130.
Ehrenfreund, P., d'Hendecourt, L., Verstraete, L., Léger, A., Schmidt, W. and Défourneau, D.: 1992, Astron. Astrophys. 259, 257.
Ehrenfreund, P., Foing, B. H., d'Hendecourt, L., Jenniskens, P. and Désert, X.: 1995, Astron. Astrophys. 299, 213.
Ehrenfreund, P. and Foing, B. H.: 1996, Astron. Astrophys. 307, L25.
Freigovel, P., Fulara, J. and Maier, J. P.: 1994, Astrophys. J. 431, L51.
Frenklach, M. and Feigelson, E. D.: 1989, Astrophys. J. 341, 372.
Fulara, J., Lessen, D., Freigovel, P. and Maier, J. P.: 1993, Nature 366, 439.
Herbig, G. H.: 1995, Annu. Rev. Astrophys. 33, 19.
Herbst, E.: 1995, Annu. Rev. Phys. Chem. 46, 27.
Hinnen, P. C. and Ubachs, W: 1995, Chem. Phys. Letters, 240, 351.
Hinnen, P. C. and Ubachs, W: 1996, Chem. Phys. Letters, 254, 32.
Irvine, W. M.: 1997, Origins Life Evol. Biosphere 28, 365–384.
Jenniskens, P. and Désert, X.: 1994, Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. Ser. 106, 39.
Jenniskens, P., Porceddu, I., Benvenuti, P. and Désert, X.: 1996, Astron. Astrophys. 313, 649.
Krelowski, J. and Walker G. A. H.: 1987, Astrophys. J. 312, 860.
Krelowski, J. and Schmidt, M.: 1996, Astrophys. J. (in press).
Léger,A. and d'Hendecourt, L. B.: 1985, Astron. Astrophys. 146, 81.
Léger, A., d'Hendecourt, L. B. and Défourneau, D.: 1995, Astron. Astrophys. 293, L53.
Martin, P.G.: 1995, in A. Tielens and T. Snow (eds.), TheDiffuse Interstellar Bands, Kluwer Academic Publishers, p. 263.
Mattila, K., Lemke, D., Haikala, L. K., Laureijs, R. J., L., Léger, A., Lehtinen, K, Leinert, Ch. and Mezger, P. G.: 1996, Astron. Astrophys. 315, L353.
Maurette, M., Bada, J., Brinton, K., Brack, A., Clemett, S., Zare, R., Engrand, C., Kurat, G. and Leach, S.: 1996, abstract in Complex Organics in Space, 31st COSPAR Assembly.
McKay, D. S. et al.: 1996, Science 273, 924.
Messenger, S., Walker, R. M., Clemett, S. J., Chillier, X. D. F. and Zare, R. N.: 1996, in D. J. Jansen, M. R. Hogerheijde and E. F. van Dishoeck (eds.), Molecules in Astrophysics, Probes and Processes, IAU Colloquium 178, Kluwer Academic Publishers (in press).
Onaka, T., Yamamura, I., Tanabe, T., Roellig, T. L. and Yuen, L.: 1996, Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan 48, L59.
Puget, J. L. and Léger, A.: 1989, Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 27, 161.
Salama, F.: 1996, in R. Fausto (ed.), Low Temperature Molecular Spectroscopy, NATO/ASI Series, Series C: Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Kluwer Academic Publishers 483, 169.
Salama, F. and Allamandola, L. J.: 1992a, Astrophys. J. 395, 301.
Salama, F. and Allamandola, L. J.: 1992b, Nature 358, 42.
Salama, F., Joblin, C. and Allamandola, L. J.: 1994, J. Chem. Phys. 101, 10252.
Salama, F., Bakes, E., Allamandola, L. J. and Tielens, A. G. G. M.: 1996, Astrophys. J. 458, 621.
Sanner, F., Snell, R. and Vanden Bout, P.: 1978, Astrophys. J. 226, 460.
Sarre, P. J., Miles, J. R. and Scarrott, S. M.: 1995, Science 269, 674.
Shock, E. L. and Schulte, M. D.: 1990, Nature 343, 728.
Snow, T. P.: 1995, in A. Tielens and T. Snow (eds.), The Diffuse Interstellar Bands, Kluwer Academic Publishers, p. 379.
Snow, T. P.: 1995, Chem. Phys. Letters 245, 639.
Sorokin, P. P. and Glownia, J. H.: 1995, Chem. Phys. Letters 234, 1.
Streitwieser, A.: 1961, in Molecular Orbital Theory for Organic Chemists, Wiley, New York, Chap. 8.
Thomas, K. L. et al.: 1995, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 59, 2797.
Tielens, A. G. G. M.: 1995, in M. R. Haas, J. A. Davidson and E. F. Erickson (eds.), Airborne Astronomy Symposium on the Galactic Ecosystem: From Gas to Stars to Dust, ASP Conference Series, 73, p. 3.
Tielens, A. G. G. M and Snow, T. P. (eds.): 1995, The Diffuse Interstellar Bands, Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Van der Zwet, G. P. and Allamandola, L. J.: 1985, Astron. Astrophys. 146, 76.
Wakeham, S. G., Schaffner, C. and Giger, W.: 1980, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 44, 415.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Salama, F. The Diffuse Interstellar Bands: A Tracer For Organics In The Diffuse Interstellar Medium?. Orig Life Evol Biosph 28, 349–364 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006506620752
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006506620752