Processing of amorphous carbon grains produced in hydrogen-rich atmosphere.

Recent laboratory experiments, compared with observations, have strongly suggested that the amount of hydrogen, present in the grain formation regions, around C-rich stars, can play a major role in the definition of the spectral characteristics of the freshly formed carbon dust particles. Such spectral characteristics could also be modified, during the thermal processing, due to the shock waves and/or the strong radiation field, that the grains undergo after their formation. In this work we report about a series of laboratory tests, during which submicronic dust particles of amorphous carbon, condensed in an hydrogen-rich atmosphere, have been processed, by means of two different methods. Some samples have been annealed into an oven at different temperatures, while others have been exposed to strong ultraviolet radiation. Their spectra have been obtained before and after the processing in the full range from ultraviolet (200 nm) to far infrared (0.1 mm). The results of the experiment are presented and discussed, together with their astrophysical implications.