Graphene Oxide Nanoparticles in the Interstellar Medium

Abstract

Dust particles play a major role in the formation, evolution and chemistry of interstellar clouds, stars and planetary systems. Commonly identified forms include amorphous and crystalline carbon-rich particles and silicates. Also present in many astrophysical environments are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), detected through their infrared emission, and which are essentially small flakes of graphene. Astronomical observations over the past four decades have revealed a widespread unassigned Extended Red Emission (ERE) feature which is attributed to luminescence of dust grains. Numerous potential carriers for ERE have been proposed but none has gained general acceptance. In this Letter it is shown that there is a strong similarity between laboratory optical emission spectra of graphene oxide and ERE, leading to this proposal that emission from graphene oxide nanoparticles is the origin of ERE and that these are a significant component of interstellar dust. The proposal is supported by infrared emission features detected by the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) and the Spitzer Space Telescope.

5 pages, 3 figures

References in corpus (6)

• The Diffuse Interstellar Bands: A Major Problem in Astronomical Spectroscopy
• The PAH emission characteristics of the reflection nebula NGC2023
• Extended Red Emission in High-Galactic Latitude Interstellar Clouds
• Extended Red Emission and the evolution of carbonaceaous nanograins in NGC 7023
• Extended Red Emission in IC59 and IC63
• The 6 $\mu$m Feature as A Tracer of Aliphatic Components of Interstellar Carbonaceous Grains

Cited by in corpus (6)

• PDRs4All IV. An embarrassment of riches: Aromatic infrared bands in the Orion Bar
• Extended Red Emission: Observational constraints for models
• Are the Carriers of Diffuse Interstellar Bands and Extended Red Emission the same?
• How Much Graphene in Space?
• Hydrogenated Fullerenes (Fulleranes) in Space
• On Carbon Nanotubes in the Interstellar Medium