Detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on a sample of comets

Abstract

We present the spectral properties of a selection of comets from both the Jupiter family and Oort cloud in the ultraviolet (UV) and mid-infrared (IR) wavelength regions. Spectroscopic measurements are retrieved from public archival data of the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) and Hubble Space Observatory (HST) in the near-UV (NUV) and far-UV (FUV) wavelengths and reveal emissions from Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules, such as pentacene (C22H14) at 1902, 2795 Å and toluene (C7H8) at 2681 Å. UV spectra of the comets also show emissions due to CS, Fe II, CO Cameron bands, C I, S I and O I. Mid-IR spectroscopic observations made using the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) on board the Spitzer Space Telescope for a few comets reveal the presence of PAH bands at 6.2, 7.7, 8.6, 11.2 μm. Mid-IR spectra of the comets also reveal the presence of silicate at 9.7 μm. The similarity of PAH signatures observed in the proto-planetary disks of young stellar objects, meteorites, interplanetary dust particles and comets with those observed in the interstellar medium (ISM) suggests a possible scenario for the incorporation of PAH from ISM into the primordial solar nebula.