Mid‐Infrared Spectra of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Emission in Herbig Ae/Be Stars

We present spectra of four Herbig Ae/Be stars obtained with the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) on the Spitzer Space Telescope . All four of the sources show strong emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), with the 6.2 μm emission feature shifted to 6.3 μm and the strongest C–C skeletal-mode feature occurring at 7.9 μm instead of at 7.7 μm, as is often seen. Remarkably, none of the four stars has silicate emission. The strength of the 7.9 μm feature varies with respect to the 11.3 μm feature among the sources, indicating that we have observed PAHs with a range of ionization fractions. The ionization fraction is higher for systems with hotter and brighter central stars. Two sources, HD 34282 and HD 169142, show emission features from aliphatic hydrocarbons at 6.85 and 7.25 μm. The spectrum of HD 141569 shows a previously undetected emission feature at 12.4 μm that may be related to the 12.7 μm PAH feature. The spectrum of HD 135344, the coolest star in our sample, shows an unusual profile in the 7-9 μm region, with the peak emission to the red of 8.0 μm and no 8.6 μm PAH feature.