Gas Phase Formation of C-Sic3 Molecules in the Circumstellar Envelope of Carbon Stars
Gas phase formation of c-SiC3 molecules in the circumstellar envelope of carbon stars Tao Yanga,b,1,2, Luke Bertelsc,1, Beni B. Dangib,3, Xiaohu Lid,e, Martin Head-Gordonc,2, and Ralf I. Kaiserb,2 aState Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, P. R. China; bDepartment of Chemistry, University of Hawai‘iatManoa, Honolulu, HI 96822; cDepartment of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720; dXinjiang Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, P. R. China; and eNational Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012, P. R. China Contributed by Martin Head-Gordon, May 17, 2019 (sent for review July 20, 2018; reviewed by Piergiorgio Casavecchia and David Clary) Complex organosilicon molecules are ubiquitous in the circumstel- Modern astrochemical models propose that the very first lar envelope of the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star IRC+10216, silicon–carbon bonds are formed in the inner envelope of the but their formation mechanisms have remained largely elusive until carbon star, which is undergoing mass loss at the rates of several − now. These processes are of fundamental importance in initiating a 10 5 solar masses per year (22, 23). Pulsations from the central chain of chemical reactions leading eventually to the formation of star may initiate shocks, which (photo)fragment the circumstellar — organosilicon molecules among them key precursors to silicon car- materials (24, 25). These nonequilibrium conditions cause tem- — bide grains in the circumstellar shell contributing critically to the peratures of 3,500 K or above (19) and lead to highly reactive galactic carbon and silicon budgets with up to 80% of the ejected metastable fragments such as electronically excited silicon atoms, materials infused into the interstellar medium.
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