First detection of the radioactive molecule 26AlF and its spectroscopic aspects

Breier, Alexander A.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/104325 Copy

Description

Title

First detection of the radioactive molecule 26AlF and its spectroscopic aspects

Author(s)

Breier, Alexander A.

Contributor(s)

• Kaminski, Tomasz
• Gauss, Jürgen
• Giesen, Thomas
• Fuchs, Guido W.

Issue Date

2019-06-20

Keyword(s)

Astrochemistry and astrobiology in the age of Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA)

Abstract

The observation of radioactive isotopes, like $^{26}$Al, gives insights in the earlier nucleosynthesis processes of stellar cores. Until now, the characteristic $\gamma$-photons released during radioactive decay have been used to record their spatial distribution on a large scale, but this method generally fails to identify individual stellar objects due to the limited detection sensitivity.\\ An alternative approach is the observation of molecules containing radioactive isotopes, like $^{26}$AlF. The stable $^{27}$Al-bearing molecule is known to condensate in the outer atmosphere of late-type stars. Radio-telescope facilities, like \textit{ALMA}, can identify these species via their rotational fingerprint. To enable an unambiguous identification the rotational transition frequencies of $^{26}$AlF need to be known with high accuracy.\\ In this work, the first detection of $^{26}$AlF in the merger object \textit{CK Vulpeculae} is reported. The mass-independent molecular parameterization of AlF using a Dunham approach is shown in detail. Further candidate stellar sources of $^{26}$Al will be discussed.\\

Publisher

International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy

Type of Resource

text

Language

eng

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/104325

DOI

https://doi.org/10.15278/isms.2019.RG06

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2019 Alexander A. Breier

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