Exotic heavily ionizing particles can be constrained by the geological abundance of fullerenes

The C-60 molecule exhibits a remarkable stability that leads to its survival in ancient carbonaceous rocks initially subjected to the elevated temperature requisite for its formation. Elementary particles having a large electronic stopping power can similarly form C-60 and higher fullerenes in their wake. Combined, these two features point at the possibility of using the C-60 presence in selected bulk geological samples as a new type of nuclear track detector, with applications in astroparticle physics.