Is the dissociation of coronene in stellar winds a source of molecular hydrogen? application to the HD 44179 nebula

The physical interactions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with stellar particular radiation are key to understanding the life cycle of PAHs, their abundance and their role in the complex astrochemistry of the interstellar medium. In this context, we present experimental results on the ionization/fragmentation of isolated coronene by a 100-keV proton, reproducing interactions between stellar winds and PAH molecules in the star's environment. In particular, we show, without ambiguity, that such ionization/fragmentation induces intense dehydrogenation processes for which the loss of even numbers of hydrogen atoms and the detection of CH $_2^{+}$ cations as a possible H2 precursor strongly suggest the formation of H2 neutral molecules along a scenario revealed by a quantum chemical calculation. We have evaluated the H2 emission cross-section from the coronene/proton interaction at 100 and 1.6 keV to be 2.97 × 10−16 and 3.3 × 10−16 cm2, respectively. A qualitative discussion on the formation rate of H2 in the HD 44179 Red Rectangle (RR) nebula leads to the conclusion that such processes could be very efficient, especially inside planetary nebulae rich in PAH molecules interacting with high proton mass-loss rate stars (such as post-asymptotic giant branch stars) or high velocity jets produced by an accretion disc.