PAHCNP · Spectroscopy of cosmic dust analogs: study of the interaction with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

The main goal of the astrophysical laboratory-based studies is to identify and/or replicate in the laboratory the materials and processes which occur in the universe. The materials on the scope of this project are the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and the particles which constitute the cosmic dust. Both of them are present in a number of regions of space and – according to recent results – are simultaneously formed during the condensation processes from the gas phase in circumstellar environments. Therefore, the adsorption of the PAHs by the dust particles must occur in those regions.The aim of this project is to study the changes induced on the PAHs by the adsorption on the dust analogs in the laboratory, with two main objectives