Variations in the Peak Position of the 6.2 μm Interstellar Emission Feature: A Tracer of N in the Interstellar Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Population

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an investigation of the molecular characteristics that underlie the observed peak position and profile of the nominal 6.2 μm interstellar emission band generally attributed to the CC stretching vibrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). It begins with a summary of recent experimental and theoretical studies of the spectroscopic properties of large (>30 carbon atoms) PAH cations as they relate to this aspect of the astrophysical problem. It then continues with an examination of the spectroscopic properties of a number of PAH variants within the context of the interstellar 6.2 μm emission, beginning with a class of compounds known as polycyclic aromatic nitrogen heterocycles (PANHs; PAHs with one or more nitrogen atoms substituted into their carbon skeleton). In this regard, we summarize the results of recent relevant experimental studies involving a limited set of small PANHs and their cations and then report the results of a comprehensive computational study that extends that work to larger PANH cations including many nitrogen-substituted variants of coronene+ (C24H), ovalene+ (C32H), circumcoronene+ (C54H), and circum-circumcoronene+ (C96H). Finally, we report the results of more focused computational studies of selected representatives from a number of other classes of PAH variants that share one or more of the key attributes of the PANH species studied. These alternative classes of PAH variants include (1) oxygen- and silicon-substituted PAH cations; (2) PAH-metal ion complexes (metallocenes) involving the cosmically abundant elements magnesium and iron; and (3) large, asymmetric PAH cations.