QUENCHED CARBONACEOUS COMPOSITE - FLUORESCENCE-SPECTRUM COMPARED TO THE EXTENDED RED EMISSION OBSERVED IN REFLECTION NEBULAE

The photoluminescence (fluorescence) of a film of the laboratory-synthesized quenched carbonaceous composite (filmy QCC) is shown to have a single broad emission feature with a peak wavelength that varies from 670 to 725 nm and coincides with that of the extended red emission observed in reflection nebulae. The rapid decay of the filmy QCC red fluorescence in air and of the stable blue fluorescence of the filmy QCC dissolved in liquid Freon suggests that the red fluorescence originates from the interaction of active chemical species and aromatic components in the filmy QCC. We suggest that a material similar in nature to that of the filmy QCC may be a major component of interstellar dust.