Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 March 2011
Near-infrared (NIR; 2.5–5 μm) low-resolution(λ/Δλ ~ 100) spectra were obtained for anumber of Galactic and extragalactic objects with the Infrared Camera (IRC) in the AKARIwarm mission. These data provide us with the first opportunity to make a systematic studyof the 3.3–3.5 μm PAH features in a galactic scale as well as within anobject. Whereas the 3.3 μm band is well resolved in most spectra, the3.5 μm band is not clearly separated from the 3.4 μmband in the IRC spectrum. The intensity ratio of the summation of the 3.4 and3.5 μm bands to the 3.3 μm band shows a tendency toincrease towards the Galactic center, although a large variation in the ratio is also seenin a local scale. A search for deuterated PAH features in the 4 μm regionis carried out in IRC NIR spectra. Emission lines originating from the ionized gastogether with the detector anomaly hamper an accurate search at certain wavelengths, butlittle convincing evidence has so far been obtained for the presence of significantfeatures in 4.2–4.7 μm. A conservative upper limit of a few percents isobtained for the integrated intensity ratio of the 4.4–4.7 μm possiblefeatures to the 3.3–3.5 μm PAH features in the spectra so farobtained.