Abstract
The infrared evidence which supports the PAH hypothesis is briefly summarized. Rather than presenting a general discussion of these assignments, this paper focuses on the spectroscopic issues raised by recent observational and experimental developments. These issues include: the position and profile of the “1310” cm−1(“7.7” μm) feature, the position and intensities of the bands in the 910-710 cm−1(11-14 μm) region, the newly detected 1900 cm−1(5.3 μm) band, and the spatial and spectral variations in the 3000 cm−1(3 μm) region as well as in the 12 and 25 μm IRAS bands. It is concluded that the infrared evidence for interstellar PAHs and PAH-related species is compelling.
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)