Abstract
New laboratory data are presented for the previously reported molecular absorption band at 4429 Å observed in a benzene plasma matching the strongest diffuse interstellar band (DIB) at 4428.9 Å. Gas-phase absorption spectra are presented for rotational temperatures of ~15 and 200 K. The observations indicate that it is unlikely that the laboratory band and the 4429 Å DIB are related. Eleven isomers of C5H5(+) and C6H5(+), both neutral and cationic, were considered as possible carriers of the laboratory band in view of the observed rotational profiles and deuterium isotope shifts. The experimental data and theoretical calculations (CASPT3, MRCI) indicate that the HCCHCHCHCH radical, a planar but nonlinear chain with one hydrogen on each carbon, is the most probable candidate causing the 4429 Å laboratory absorption.
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