Possible contribution of olefins and heteroatoms to the Unidentified Infrared Bands

Abstract

The current assignments of the 11.3 feature are shown to be incompatible with observations. An unbiased survey of correlation charts suggests that the olefinic group R2=CH2 is a good alternative candidate. For the 12.7 feature, the best fits are provided by nitrites, R-O-N=O, and amines, R-N=H2. Sulfones, SO2, exhibit strong features near 7.7 and 8.6 microns, which may contribute to the UIBs. These additional functional groups are likely to be attached to the main hydrocarbon dust skeleton previously hypothesized in the coal/kerogen model. They provide further leeway in modelling the large variety of relative band intensities observed in the sky.