Mainz 2026 – scientific programme
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MO: Fachverband Molekülphysik
MO 24: Molecular Spectroscopy I
MO 24.4: Talk
Thursday, March 5, 2026, 12:00–12:15, P 204
Shedding Light on (SiC)1,2+: First Laboratory Spectra Obtained by Electronic Photodissociation — •Kai Pollow, Alexander Breier, and Otto Dopfer — Institut für Physik und Astronomie, Technische Universität Berlin, Hardenbergstraße 36, Berlin, Germany
Silicon carbide ions (SinCm+) are expected in carbon-rich circumstellar environments such as those around asymptotic giant branch stars1,2. Several small neutral SinCm species are known in the interstellar medium3, but their cations remain unidentified due to missing spectroscopic data4. Spectra of SinCm+ are therefore essential for assessing their role in ion–molecule chemistry and silicon carbide dust formation.
We present the first laboratory spectra of (SiC)1,2+, recorded via vibronic photodissociation of mass-selected ions in a quadrupole/time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometer with a laser vaporization source4. The spectra exhibit clear vibrational structure, and the derived parameters agree with quantum-chemical predictions.
References:
1 T. Chen et al., Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 509, 5231 (2022).
2 M. C. McCarthy et al., J. Mol. Spectrosc. 356, 7 (2019).
3 S. Massalkhi et al., Astron. Astrophys. 611, A29 (2018).
4 M. Förstel et al., J. Mol. Spectrosc. 377, 111427 (2021).
Keywords: Silicon carbide ions; Photodissociation spectroscopy; Interstellar molecules; Circumstellar chemistry; Mass spectrometry