Protonated PAHs as carriers of diffuse interstellar bands

We report the first results of Time-dependent Density Functional Theory calculations of electronic transitions of protonated stable neutral polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules. Unlike most neutral closed-shell PAHs which generally absorb strongly in the ultraviolet (UV) or near-UV, the corresponding isoelectronic protonated forms of PAH molecules such as coronene and ovalene are predicted to have absorptions in the visible spectral region. Combining this with other astrophysical, chemical and physical aspects, it is concluded that the protonated forms of PAHs represent a strong class of candidate carriers of diffuse interstellar bands.