Abstract
A CRYSTAL-FIELD assignment for the 17,500 cm−1 (5700 Å) and 19,700 cm−1 (5100 Å) bands in absorption spectra of Type I supernovae would support the contention that 6 of the 8 prominent supernova bands (and their diffuse interstellar1 wavelength-equivalents) have been “parcelled” and assigned correctly to d–d transitions in tetrahedral-Fe3+ and octahedral-Fe3+. It had been assumed earlier that octahedral- and tetrahedral Fe3+ ions are incorporated in the same oxide2 (γ-Fe2O3) or silicate3 (schorlomite) lattice. Here, I point out that interstellar dust may contain anionic species of Fe, namely FeO42− and FeO2−, which are thermally degradable to a likely interstellar material α-Fe2O3. (Absorption bands are designated according to their wavelengths in the May 4 spectrum4 of SN-NGC-4496.)
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MANNING, P. Anionic Species of Fe in Interstellar Dust. Nature 240, 547 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/240547a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/240547a0
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