Nor Jhon Bruzon

ICT 301

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

In addition to our own Milky Way, PAHs can be found in other galaxies as far away as the oldest
and most distant universes. We are aware of this because they produce fluorescent infrared
radiation with the assistance of UV light particles. As observations with the Infrared Space
Observatory (ISO) and the Spitzer have shown since the mid-nineties, they are large molecules
with 50–100 carbon atoms that are present on almost all spacecraft. At low temperatures, each
butter molecule has less energy, which prevents it from moving and breaking the bond that
holds them together. However, at room temperature, the molecules absorb more energy, which
allows them to break the bonds and cause the reaction.
However, all evidence, no matter how advanced, is still indirect. Specific PAHs, and even
classes of PAHs, have never been identified directly. Despite all of the theoretical and
experimental work done since the 1970s, much of which Xander Tielens was a pioneer in, their
chemical and physical properties are unknown to researchers. Because our understanding of
these chemical and physical properties is so limited, we cannot say for certain what they do in
space, how they formed, and what their function is, for example, in star and planet formation.
To learn more about these PAHs, Tielens will now combine astronomical observations,
theoretical models, and lab experiments. The research agenda is very multidisciplinary. He
plans to analyze the spectra revealed by the Spitzer and the ISO with his team of researchers
and relate them to things like the physical conditions in the region of space where they are
found. The Herschel telescope, which was launched earlier this year, will offer more details on
these circumstances.
The team will create computer models of the emission characteristics while studying the
properties of large PAH molecules in the gas phase in the lab. Tielens hopes to be able to
comment on the chemical evolution of the molecules by investigating the photochemistry of the
molecules. The Sackler Laboratory for Astrophysics in Leiden and the Felix laser facility at the
FOM Institute for Plasma Physics in Rijnhuizen will serve as the locations for the lab work.

On January 1, 2009, Xander Tielens, who earned his PhD from Leiden University in 1982, was
named Professor of Physics and Chemistry of the Interstellar Space. Following the completion
of his doctorate, he moved to the US and began working at the National Research Council
before eventually moving to the University of California, Berkeley. Tielens worked as a senior
scientist at the California-based NASA Ames Research Center from 1989 to 1997. He held the
position of Groningen Professor of Astrophysics from 1997 to 2005. He rejoined the NASA
Ames Research Center from 2005 to 2008. He has been and continues to be associated with
numerous international initiatives for the creation and use of cutting-edge tools for space
research. In addition, he oversaw "The Molecular Universe," a Marie Curie Research and
Training Network, from 2004 to 2008. Tielens has received numerous awards and authored the
textbook Physics and Chemistry of the Interstellar Medium (2005, 2nd edition 2006).