Contents
Images
Upload your image
DSS Images Other Images
Related articles
The Chemical Composition of Galactic Planetary Nebulae with Regard to Inhomogeneity in the Gas Density in Their Envelopes
The results of a study of the chemical compositions of Galacticplanetary nebulae taking into account two types of inhomogeneity in thenebular gas density in their envelopes are reported. New analyticalexpressions for the ionization correction factors have been derived andare used to determine the chemical compositions of the nebular gas inGalactic planetary nebulae. The abundances of He, N, O, Ne, S, and Arhave been found for 193 objects. The Y Z diagrams for various Heabundances are analyzed for type II planetary nebulae separately andjointly with HII regions. The primordial helium abundance Y p andenrichment ratio dY/dZ are determined, and the resulting values arecompared with the data of other authors. Radial abundance gradients inthe Galactic disk are studied using type II planetary nebulae.
| The populations of planetary nebulae in the direction of the Galactic bulge. Chemical abundances and Wolf-Rayet central stars
We have observed 44 planetary nebulae (PNe) in the direction of theGalactic bulge, and merged our data with published ones. We havedistinguished, in the merged sample of 164 PNe, those PNe most likely toprtain physically to the Galactic bulge and those most likely to belongto the Galactic disk. We have determined the chemical composition of allthe 164 objects in a coherent way. We looked for stellar emissionfeatures and discovered 14 new [WR] stars and 15 new weak emission linecentral stars. The analyzed data led us to the following conclusions:(1) the spectral type distribution of [WR] stars is very different inthe bulge and in the disk of the Galaxy. However, the observeddistributions are strongly dependent on selection effects. (2) Theproportion of [WR] PNe is significantly larger in the bulge than in thedisk. (3) The oxygen abundances in [WR] stars do no appear to besignificantly affected by nucleosynthesis and mixing in the progenitors.(4) The O/H gradient of the Galactic disk PNe population flattens in themost internal parts of the Galaxy. (5) The median oxygen abundance inthe bulge PN population is larger by 0.2 dex than in the disk populationseen in the direction of the bulge. (6) Bulge PNe with smaller O/H tendto have smaller radial velocities. (7) The oxygen abundance distributionof bulge PNe is similar in shape to that of the metallicity distributionof bulge giants, but significantly narrower. (8) The location ofSB 32 (PN G 349.7-09.1) in the(Vlsr, lII) diagram and its low oxygen abundanceargues that it probably belongs to the halo population.Based on observations made at the South African AstronomicalObservatory.Tables 1-3 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http: / /cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/427/231
| A reanalysis of chemical abundances in galactic PNe and comparison with theoretical predictions
New determinations of chemical abundances for He, N, O, Ne, Ar and Sare derived for all galactic planetary nebulae (PNe) so far observedwith a relatively high accuracy, in an effort to overcome differences inthese quantities obtained over the years by different authors usingdifferent procedures. These include: ways to correct for interstellarextinction, the atomic data used to interpret the observed line fluxes,the model nebula adopted to represent real objects and the ionizationcorrections for unseen ions. A unique `good quality' classical-typeprocedure, i.e. making use of collisionally excited forbidden lines toderive ionic abundances of heavy ions, has been applied to allindividual sets of observed line fluxes in each specific position withineach PN. Only observational data obtained with linear detectors, andsatisfying some `quality' criteria, have been considered. Suchobservations go from the mid-1970s up to the end of 2001. Theobservational errors associated with individual line fluxes have beenpropagated through the whole procedure to obtain an estimate of theaccuracy of final abundances independent of an author's `prejudices'.Comparison of the final abundances with those obtained in relevantmulti-object studies on the one hand allowed us to assess the accuracyof the new abundances, and on the other hand proved the usefulness ofthe present work, the basic purpose of which was to take full advantageof the vast amount of observations done so far of galactic PNe, handlingthem in a proper homogeneous way. The number of resulting PNe that havedata of an adequate quality to pass the present selection amounts to131. We believe that the new derived abundances constitute a highlyhomogeneous chemical data set on galactic PNe, with realisticuncertainties, and form a good observational basis for comparison withthe growing number of predictions from stellar evolution theory. Owingto the known discrepancies between the ionic abundances of heavyelements derived from the strong collisonally excited forbidden linesand those derived from the weak, temperature-insensitive recombinationlines, it is recognized that only abundance ratios between heavyelements can be considered as satisfactorily accurate. A comparison withtheoretical predictions allowed us to assess the state of the art inthis topic in any case, providing some findings and suggestions forfurther theoretical and observational work to advance our understandingof the evolution of low- and intermediate-mass stars.
| Sulfur, Chlorine, and Argon Abundances in Planetary Nebulae. IV. Synthesis and the Sulfur Anomaly
We have compiled a large sample of O, Ne, S, Cl, and Ar abundances thathave been determined for 85 Galactic planetary nebulae in a consistentand homogeneous manner using spectra extending from 3600 to 9600Å. Sulfur abundances have been computed using the near-IR lines of[S III] λλ9069, 9532 along with [S III] temperatures. Wefind average values, expressed logarithmically with a standarddeviation, of log(S/O)=-1.91+/-0.24, log(Cl/O)=-3.52+/-0.16, andlog(Ar/O)=-2.29+/-0.18, numbers consistent with previous studies of bothplanetary nebulae and H II regions. We also find a strong correlationbetween [O III] and [S III] temperatures among planetary nebulae. Inanalyzing abundances of Ne, S, Cl, and Ar with respect to O, we find atight correlation for Ne-O, and loose correlations for Cl-O and Ar-O.All three trends appear to be colinear with observed correlations for HII regions. S and O also show a correlation, but there is a definiteoffset from the behavior exhibited by H II regions and stars. We suggestthat this S anomaly is most easily explained by the existence ofS+3, whose abundance must be inferred indirectly when onlyoptical spectra are available, in amounts in excess of what is predictedby model-derived ionization correction factors in PNe. Finally for thedisk PNe, abundances of O, Ne, S, Cl, and Ar all show gradients whenplotted against Galactocentric distance. The slopes are statisticallyindistinguishable from one another, a result which is consistent withthe notion that the cosmic abundances of these elements evolve inlockstep.
| A Survey for Water Maser Emission toward Planetary Nebulae: New Detection in IRAS 17347-3139
We report on a water maser survey toward a sample of 27 planetarynebulae (PNe) using the Robledo de Chavela and Medicina single-dishantennas, as well as the Very Large Array (VLA). Two detections havebeen obtained: the already known water maser emission in K3-35, and anew cluster of masers in IRAS 17347-3139. This low rate of detections iscompatible with the short lifetime of water molecules in PNe (~100 yr).The water maser cluster at IRAS 17347-3139 are distributed on a ellipseof size ~=0.2"×0.1", spatially associated with compact 1.3 cmcontinuum emission (simultaneously observed with the VLA). From archiveVLA continuum data at 4.9, 8.4, and 14.9 GHz, a spectral indexα=0.76+/-0.03 (Sν~να) is derivedfor this radio source, which is consistent with either a partiallyoptically thick ionized region or an ionized wind. However, the latterscenario can be ruled out by mass-loss considerations, thus indicatingthat this source is probably a young PN. The spatial distribution andthe radial velocities of the water masers are suggestive of a rotatingand expanding maser ring, tracing the innermost regions of a torusformed at the end of the asymptotic giant branch phase. Given that the1.3 cm continuum emission peak is located near one of the tips of themajor axis of the ellipse of masers, we speculate on a possible binarynature of IRAS 17347-3139, where the radio continuum emission couldbelong to one of the components and the water masers would be associatedwith a companion.
| The relation between Zanstra temperature and morphology in planetary nebulae
We have created a master list of Zanstra temperatures for 373 galacticplanetary nebulae based upon a compilation of 1575 values taken from thepublished literature. These are used to evaluate mean trends intemperature for differing nebular morphologies. Among the most prominentresults of this analysis is the tendency forη=TZ(HeII)/TZ(HeI) to increase with nebularradius, a trend which is taken to arise from the evolution of shelloptical depths. We find that as many as 87 per cent of nebulae may beoptically thin to H ionizing radiation where radii exceed ~0.16 pc. Wealso note that the distributions of values η and TZ(HeII)are quite different for circular, elliptical and bipolar nebulae. Acomparison of observed temperatures with theoretical H-burning trackssuggests that elliptical and circular sources arise from progenitorswith mean mass ≅ 1 Msolar(although the elliptical progenitors are probably more massive).Higher-temperature elliptical sources are likely to derive fromprogenitors with mass ≅2 Msolar, however, implying thatthese nebulae (at least) are associated with a broad swathe ofprogenitor masses. Such a conclusion is also supported by trends in meangalactic latitude. It is found that higher-temperature ellipticalsources have much lower mean latitudes than those with smallerTZ(HeII), a trend which is explicable where there is anincrease in with increasing TZ(HeII).This latitude-temperature variation also applies for most other sources.Bipolar nebulae appear to have mean progenitor masses ≅2.5Msolar, whilst jets, Brets and other highly collimatedoutflows are associated with progenitors at the other end of the massrange (~ 1 Msolar). Indeed it ispossible, given their large mean latitudes and low peak temperatures,that the latter nebulae are associated with the lowest-mass progenitorsof all.The present results appear fully consistent with earlier analyses basedupon nebular scale heights, shell abundances and the relativeproportions of differing morphologies, and offer further evidence for alink between progenitor mass and morphology.
| Galactic Planetary Nebulae and their central stars. I. An accurate and homogeneous set of coordinates
We have used the 2nd generation of the Guide Star Catalogue (GSC-II) asa reference astrometric catalogue to compile the positions of 1086Galactic Planetary Nebulae (PNe) listed in the Strasbourg ESO Catalogue(SEC), its supplement and the version 2000 of the Catalogue of PlanetaryNebulae. This constitutes about 75% of all known PNe. For these PNe, theones with a known central star (CS) or with a small diameter, we havederived coordinates with an absolute accuracy of ~0\farcs35 in eachcoordinate, which is the intrinsic astrometric precision of the GSC-II.For another 226, mostly extended, objects without a GSC-II counterpartwe give coordinates based on the second epoch Digital Sky Survey(DSS-II). While these coordinates may have systematic offsets relativeto the GSC-II of up to 5 arcsecs, our new coordinates usually representa significant improvement over the previous catalogue values for theselarge objects. This is the first truly homogeneous compilation of PNepositions over the whole sky and the most accurate one available so far.The complete Table \ref{tab2} is only available in electronic form atthe CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/408/1029}
| Angular dimensions of planetary nebulae
We have measured angular dimensions of 312 planetary nebulae from theirimages obtained in Hα (or Hα + [NII]). We have appliedthree methods of measurements: direct measurements at the 10% level ofthe peak surface brightness, Gaussian deconvolution and second-momentdeconvolution. The results from the three methods are compared andanalysed. We propose a simple deconvolution of the 10% levelmeasurements which significantly improves the reliability of thesemeasurements for compact and partially resolved nebulae. Gaussiandeconvolution gives consistent but somewhat underestimated diameterscompared to the 10% measurements. Second-moment deconvolution givesresults in poor agreement with those from the other two methods,especially for poorly resolved nebulae. From the results of measurementsand using the conclusions of our analysis we derive the final nebulardiameters which should be free from systematic differences between small(partially resolved) and extended (well resolved) objects in our sample.Table 1 is only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
| Quantitative classification of WR nuclei of planetary nebulae
We analyse 42 emission-line nuclei of Planetary Nebulae (PNe), in theframework of a large spectrophotometric survey of [WC] nuclei of PNeconducted since 1994, using low/medium resolution spectra obtained atESO and at OHP. We construct a grid of selected line-intensities(normalized to C Iv-5806 Å= 100) ordered by decreasing ionisationpotential going from 871 to 24 eV. In this grid, the stars appear tobelong clearly to prominent O (hot [WO1-4] types) or C (cooler [WC4-11]types) line-sequences, in agreement with the classification of massiveWR stars applied to Central Stars of Planetary Nebulae (CSPNe) byCrowther et al. \cite{crowther98} (CMB98). We propose 20 selected lineratios and the FWHM of C Iv and C Iii lines as classificationdiagnostics, which agree well with the 7 line ratios and the FWHMproposed by CMB98. This classification based on ionisation is related tothe evolution of the temperature and of the stellar wind, reflecting themass-loss history. In particular, inside the hot [WO4]-class, wediscover four stars showing very broad lines over the whole spectralrange. These stars possibly mark the transition from the initialmomentum-driven phase to the later energy-driven phase of the CSPNealong their evolution from the post-Asymptotic Giant Branch (post-AGB)phase through [WC] late, [WC4] and [WO]-types. The HR diagram and thediagram linking the terminal velocity and the temperature indicatehighly dispersed values of the stellar mass for our sample, around amean mass higher than for normal CSPNe. The distribution of the 42 starsalong the ionisation sequence shows 24% of [WO1-3], 21% of [WO4], 17% of[WC4] hot stars, and 26% of [WC9-11] cool stars. The [WC5-8] classesremain poorly represented (12%). This distribution is confirmed on thebasis of a large compilation of the 127 known emission-lines CSPNe,which represent about 5% of the known PNe.Based on observations obtained at the European Southern Observatory(ESO), La Silla (Chile), and at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence (OHP,France).Table \ref{liste} is only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
| The Structure of NGC 6309: BRET or Bipolar Outflow?
Not Available
| New Emission Line Planetary Nebulae Nuclei in the Direction of the Galactic Center
Not Available
| Enigmatic Low-Velocity Jet-Like Features in Planetary Nebulae
We are developing a project aimed at studying the physical properties,origin and evolution of low-ionization structures in planetary nebulae.Within this project we have identified a number of pairs of highlycollimated low-ionization jet-like features (Gonçalves et al.2001). In spite of being very similar to real jets, they have theintriguing property of possessing expansion velocities which are verylow, or at least not significantly different from, that of the shells inwhich they are embedded. In this contribution we discuss our data onthese fake jets (Corradi et al. 1997, 1999) and compare them withexisting theoretical models for the formation of collimated structuresin PNe. These enigmatic jet-like systems are not easily accounted forwithin the theoretical scenarios that deal with collimated features inPNe.
| Gas temperature and excitation classes in planetary nebulae
Empirical methods to estimate the elemental abundances in planetarynebulae usually use the temperatures derived from the [O III] and [N II]emission-line ratios, respectively, for the high- and low-ionizationzones. However, for a large number of objects these values may not beavailable. In order to overcome this difficulty and allow a betterdetermination of abundances, we discuss the relationship between thesetwo temperatures. Although a correlation is not easily seen when asample of different PNe types is used, the situation is improved whenthey are gathered into excitation classes. From [OII]/[OIII] andHeII/HeI line ratios, we define four excitation classes. Then, usingstandard photoionization models which fit most of the data, a linearrelation between the two temperatures is obtained for each of the fourexcitation classes. The method is applied to several objects for whichonly one temperature can be obtained from the observed emission linesand is tested by recalculation of the radial abundance gradient of theGalaxy using a larger number of PNe. We verified that our previousgradient results, obtained with a smaller sample of planetary nebulae,are not changed, indicating that the temperature relation obtained fromthe photoionization models are a good approximation, and thecorresponding statistical error decreases as expected. Tables 3-5, 7 and9 are only available in electronic form at http://www.edpsciences.org
| Sulfur, Chlorine, and Argon Abundances in Planetary Nebulae. IIB. Abundances in a Southern Sample
We have undertaken a large spectroscopic survey of over 80 planetarynebulae with the goal of providing a homogeneous spectroscopic databasebetween 3600 and 9600 Å, as well as a set of consistentlydetermined abundances, especially for oxygen, sulfur, chlorine, andargon. In the current paper we calculate and report the S/O, Cl/O, andAr/O abundance ratios for 45 southern planetary nebulae (predominantlytype II), using our own recently observed line strengths published in acompanion paper. One of the salient features of our work is the use ofthe near-IR lines of [S III] λλ9069, 9532 coupled with the[S III] temperature, to determine the S+2 ionic abundance. Wefind the following average abundances for these objects:S/O=0.011+/-0.0064, Cl/O=0.00031+/-0.00012, and Ar/O=0.0051+/-0.0020.
| Sulfur, Chlorine, and Argon in Planetary Nebulae. IIA. Observations of a Southern Sample
In this paper we present fully reduced and dereddened emission linestrengths for a sample of 45 southern type II planetary nebulae(PNs).The spectrophotometry for these PNs covers an extendedoptical/near-IR range from 3600 to 9600 Å. This PN study andsubsequent analysis (presented in a companion paper), together with asimilar treatment for a northern PN sample, is aimed at addressing thelack of homogeneous, consistently observed, reduced, and analyzed datasets that include the near-IR [S III] lines at 9069 and 9532 Å.The use of type II objects only is intended to select disk nebulae thatare uncontaminated by nucleosynthetic products of the progenitor star.Extending spectra redward to include the strong [S III] lines enables usto look for consistency between S+2 abundances inferred fromthese lines and from the more accessible, albeit weaker, [S III] line atλ6312.
| Study of electron density in planetary nebulae. A comparison of different density indicators
We present a comparison of electron density estimates for planetarynebulae based on different emission-line ratios. We have considered thedensity indicators [O Ii]lambda 3729/lambda 3726, [S Ii]lambda6716/lambda 6731, [Cl Iii]lambda 5517/lambda 5537, [Ar Iv]lambda4711/lambda 4740, C Iii]lambda 1906/lambda 1909 and [N I]lambda5202/lambda 5199. The observational data were extracted from theliterature. We have found systematic deviations from the densityhomogeneous models, in the sense that: Ne(ion {N}i) <~Ne(ion {O}{ii}) < Ne(ion {S}{ii}, ion {C}{iii},ion {Cl}{iii} or ion {Ar}{iv}) and Ne(ion {S}{ii}) ~Ne(ion {C}{iii}) ~ Ne(ion {Cl}{iii}) ~Ne(ion {Ar}{iv}). We argue that the lower [O Ii] densityestimates are likely due to errors in the atomic parameters used.
| Sulfur, Chlorine, and Argon in Planetary Nebulae. I. Observations and Abundances in a Northern Sample
This paper is the first of a series specifically studying the abundancesof sulfur, chlorine, and argon in type II planetary nebulae (PNe) in theGalactic disk. Ratios of S/O, Cl/O, and Ar/O constitute important testsof differential nucleosynthesis of these elements and serve as strictconstraints on massive star yield predictions. We present newground-based optical spectra extending from 3600-9600 Å for asample of 19 type II northern PNe. This range includes the strongnear-infrared lines of [S III] λλ9069,9532, which allowsus to test extensively their effectiveness as sulfur abundanceindicators. We also introduce a new, model-tested ionization correctionfactor for sulfur. For the present sample, we find average values ofS/O=1.2×10-2+/-0.71×10-2,Cl/O=3.3×10-4+/-1.6×10-4, andAr/O=5.0×10-3+/-1.9×10-3.
| Helium contamination from the progenitor stars of planetary nebulae: The He/H radial gradient and the ΔY / ΔZ enrichment ratio
In this work, two aspects of the chemical evolution of 4He inthe Galaxy are considered on the basis of a sample of disk planetarynebulae (PN). First, an application of corrections owing to thecontamination of 4He from the evolution of the progenitorstars shows that the He/H abundance by number of atoms is reduced by0.012 to 0.015 in average, leading to an essentially flat He/H radialdistribution. Second, a determination of the helium to heavy elementenrichment ratio using the same corrections leads to values in the range2.8 < ΔY / ΔZ < 3.6 for Y p = 0.23 and 2.0< ΔY / ΔZ < 2.8 for Y p = 0.24, in goodagreement with recent independent determinations and theoretical models.
| An analysis of the observed radio emission from planetary nebulae
We have analysed the radio fluxes for 264 planetary nebulae for whichreliable measurements of fluxes at 1.4 and 5 GHz, and of nebulardiameters are available. For many of the investigated nebulae, theoptical thickness is important, especially at 1.4 GHz. Simple modelslike the one specified only by a single optical thickness or spherical,constant density shells do not account satisfactorily for theobservations. Also an r-2 density distribution is ruled out.A reasonable representation of the observations can be obtained by atwo-component model having regions of two different values of opticalthickness. We show that the nebular diameters smaller than 10arcsec areuncertain, particularly if they come from photographic plates orGaussian fitting to the radio profile. While determining theinterstellar extinction from an optical to radio flux ratio, cautionshould be paid regarding optical thickness effects in the radio. We havedeveloped a method for estimating the value of self absorption. At 1.4GHz self absorption of the flux is usually important and can exceed afactor of 10. At 5 GHz self absorption is negligible for most of theobjects, although in some cases it can reach a factor of 2. The Galacticbulge planetary nebulae when used to calibrate the Shklovsky method givea mean nebular mass of 0.14 Msun. The statistical uncertaintyof the Shklovsky distances is smaller than a factor of 1.5. Table 1 isonly available in electronic form at http://www.edpsciences.org.
| A Bi-Component Spectral Analysis of 4 Planetary Nebulae
Presented here is the analysis of four planetary nebulae which showwell-resolved Doppler splitting of their emission lines into distinctspectral components. The red, (R), and blue, (B), components of thespectral lines have been separately analyzed to obtain the reddening,the electron temperature, the electron density, and the ionic and totalabundances for each object within two areas of each nebula along theline of sight. The derived physical conditions for the R and Bcomponents were then compared to see if any variations occurred alongthe line of sight within these objects, indicating the presence ofphysical imhomogeneities along the line of sight. For the centralspectrum of NGC 6309, a variation of 1600K in T[e][O III] is found,along with suggested variations in n[e][O II], c(H β ) and N/Hbetween the R and B components. For the central position of NGC 6751,T[e][O III] varies by 1500K between the R and B components. However,despite taking these T[e] variations found for NGC 6309 and NGC 6751into account when calculating O2 +/H+ ratios, discrepancies still existbetween ratios derived from the recombination vs. the collisional lines.It is finally noted that the expansion velocities for both thecollisional and recombination lines of O2 + are the same, indicatingthat the same volume of emission is traced by these lines.
| The Galactic disc distribution of planetary nebulae with warm dust emission features - I
We investigate the Galactic disc distribution of a sample of planetarynebulae characterized in terms of their mid-infrared spectral features.The total number of Galactic disc PNe with 8-13μm spectra is broughtup to 74 with the inclusion of 24 new objects, the spectra of which wepresent for the first time. 54 PNe have clearly identified warm dustemission features, and form a sample that we use to construct thedistribution of the C/O chemical balance in Galactic disc PNe. The dustemission features complement the information on the progenitor massesbrought by the gas-phase N/O ratios: PNe with unidentified infraredemission bands have the highest N/O ratios, while PNe with the silicatesignature have either very high N enrichment or close to none. We find atrend for a decreasing proportion of O-rich PNe towards the third andfourth Galactic quadrants. Two independent distance scales confirm thatthe proportion of O-rich PNe decreases from 30\pm 9 per cent inside the solar circle to 14\pm 7 per cent outside. PNe with warm dustare also the youngest. PNe with no warm dust are uniformly distributedin C/O and N/O ratios, and do not appear to be confined to C/O\sim 1. They also have higher 6-cmfluxes, as expected from more evolved PNe. We show that the IRAS fluxesare a good representation of the bolometric flux for compact andIR-bright PNe, which are probably optically thick. Selection of objectswith \fontshape{it}{F}(12\hphantom{0}\mu m)>0.5\hphantom{0} Jyshould probe a good portion of the Galactic disc for these young, denseand compact nebulae, and the dominant selection effects are rooted inthe PN catalogues.
| Morphology and Evolution of the Large Magellanic Cloud Planetary Nebulae
The LMC is ideal for studying the coevolution of planetary nebulae (PNs)and their central stars in that the debilitating uncertainties of theGalactic PN distance scale and selection biases from attenuation byinterstellar dust do not apply. We present images and analyze slitlessspectra that were obtained in a survey of Large Magellanic Cloud PNs.These data on 29 targets were obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope(HST) using the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. The data permit usto determine the nebular dimensions and morphology in the monochromaticlight of several emission lines, including those that have traditionallybeen used for morphological studies in the Galaxy: Hα, [N II]λ6583, and [O III] λ5007, plus others of varyingionization including [O I], He I, and [S II]. Together with the 31resolved LMC PNs for which monochromatic images exist in the HSTarchive, these data show that the incidence of nonsymmetric nebulae,including bipolar nebulae (which is an indicator of Population Iancestry in the Galaxy), is significantly higher than that reported forthe Galaxy. The onset of asymmetric features appears even in very youngnebulae (with dynamical ages of ~1400 yr), suggesting that at least thegross features of the nebular morphology may be more closely tied to PNformation and that subsequent shaping of the expanding envelope by theradiation field and wind from the central star may play the lesser roleof amplifying these gross features. There is some evidence of evolutionbetween two morphological types in the sense that bipolar core nebulaemay evolve to pure bipolars late in the PN lifetime. Based onobservations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at theSpace Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Associationof Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555.
| Low-Ionization Structures in Planetary Nebulae: Confronting Models with Observations
Around 50 planetary nebulae (PNs) are presently known to possess``small-scale'' low-ionization structures (LISs) located inside oroutside their main nebular bodies. We consider here the different kindsof LISs (jets, jetlike systems, symmetrical and nonsymmetrical knots)and present a detailed comparison of the existing model predictions withthe observational morphological and kinematical properties. We find thatnebulae with LISs appear indistinctly spread among all morphologicalclasses of PNs, indicating that the processes leading to the formationof LISs are not necessarily related to those responsible for theasphericity of the large-scale morphological components of PNs. We showthat both the observed velocities and locations of most nonsymmetricalsystems of LISs can be reasonably well reproduced assuming either fossilcondensations originated in the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) wind or insitu instabilities. The jet models proposed to date (hydrodynamical andmagnetohydrodynamical interacting winds or accretion disk collimatedwinds) appear unable to account simultaneously for several keycharacteristics of the observed high-velocity jets, such as theirkinematical ages and the angle between the jet and the symmetry axes ofthe nebulae. The linear increase in velocity observed in several jetsfavors magnetohydrodynamical confinement compared to pure hydrodynamicalinteracting wind models. On the other hand, we find that the formationof jetlike systems characterized by relatively low expansion velocities(similar to those of the main shells of PNs) cannot be explained by anyof the existing models. Finally, the knots that appear in symmetricaland opposite pairs of low velocity could be understood as the survivalof fossil (symmetrical) condensations formed during the AGB phase or asstructures that have experienced substantial slowing down by the ambientmedium.
| Gravity distances of planetary nebulae II. Aplication to a sample of galactic objects.
Not Available
| On the abundance gradient of the galactic disk
Estimates of the gas temperature in planetary nebulae obtained from the[O III] emission line ratio and from the Balmer discontinuity indicatedifferences reaching up to 6000 K (Liu & Danziger 1993). The [O III]temperature is commonly used to obtain the ionic fractions of highlyionized ions, particularly the O++ and Ne++ ions when using theempirical method to calculate the elemental abundances of photoionizedgas from the observed emission line intensities. However, if the gastemperature is overestimated the elemental abundances may beunderestimated. In particular this may lead to an incorrect elementalabundance gradient for the Galaxy, usually used as a constraint for thechemical evolution models. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we calculatethe systematic error introduced in the abundance gradient obtained fromplanetary nebulae by an overestimation of the gas temperature. Theresults indicate that the abundance gradient in the Galaxy should besteeper than previously assumed.
| High-Velocity Collimated Outflows in Planetary Nebulae: NGC 6337, HE 2-186, and K4-47
We have obtained narrowband images and high-resolution spectra of theplanetary nebulae NGC 6337, He 2-186, and K4-47 with the aim ofinvestigating the relation between their main morphological componentsand several low-ionization features present in these nebulae. The datasuggest that NGC 6337 is a bipolar PN seen almost pole-on, with polarvelocities of >=200 km s-1. The bright inner ring of thenebula is interpreted to be the ``equatorial'' density enhancement. Itcontains a number of low-ionization knots and outward tails that weascribe to dynamical instabilities leading to fragmentation of the ringor transient density enhancements due to the interaction of theionization front with previous density fluctuations in the interstellarmedium. The lobes show a pronounced point-symmetric morphology and twopeculiar low-ionization filaments, the nature of which remains unclear.The most notable characteristic of He 2-186 is the presence of twohigh-velocity (>=135 km s-1) knots from which an S-shapedlane of emission departs toward the central star. K4-47 is composed of acompact core and two high-velocity, low-ionization blobs. We interpretthe substantial broadening of line emission from the blobs as asignature of bow shocks, and using the modeling of Hartigan, Raymond,& Hartman, we derive a shock velocity of ~150 km s-1 anda mild inclination of the outflow on the plane of the sky. We discusspossible scenarios for the formation of these nebulae and theirlow-ionization features. In particular, the morphology of K4-47 hardlyfits into any of the usually adopted mass-loss geometries for singleasymptotic giant branch stars. Finally, we discuss the possibility thatpoint-symmetric morphologies in the lobes of NGC 6337 and the knots ofHe 2-186 are the result of precessing outflows from the central stars.Based on observations obtained at the 3.5 m New Technology Telescope(NTT) of the European Southern Observatory, and at the 2.6 m NordicOptical Telescope (NOT) operated on the island of La Palma by NOTSA, inthe Spanish Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos of the Instituto deAstrofísica de Canarias, and with the NASA/ESA Hubble SpaceTelescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which isoperated by AURA for NASA under contract NAS5-26555.
| Distances of Galactic Planetary Nebulae Based on a Relationship Between the Central Star Mass and the N/O Abundance
In this paper, we propose a method to determine distances of Galacticplanetary nebulae on the basis of a relationship between the centralstar mass and the nebular N/O abundance ratio. This relationship is usedin combination with some basic parameters of the central stars, such asthe lambda 5480 flux, surface gravity and visual magnitude in order toobtain distances to a sample of a hundred Galactic planetary nebulae.
| Gas Dynamics in Planetary Nebulae: From Macro-structures to FLIERs
Purpose of this paper is to clarify how Planetary Nebulae (PNe) are veryinteresting laboratories to study cosmic gas dynamics. I first recallthe history of PNe which are generated from low and intermediate massstars through successive mass loss processes starting in the Reg Giantphase of evolution and continuing also after the termination of thepulsed AGB phase, where most of the nebular mass is believed to beejected. The correponding stellar winds are the ingredients of thenebula. Their initial properties and subsequent mutual interactions,under the action of the evolving stellar radiation field, areresponsible for the properties of the nebula. The observed structures ofPNe are considered in detail. Larger scale macroscopic structures (MACS)are examined separately from quite smaller scale microscopic structures(MICS). The formation of MACS, at least in cases of round to moderatelyelliptical PNe, is shown to be reasonably well understood in terms ofexisting hydrodynamical models. Considering the kinematical behaviour,MICS can be separated into FLIERs (Fast Low Ionization Emitting Regions)and SLOWERs (slowly moving). Attention is focussed on FLIERs and on theproposed mechanisms to interpret them. Recent observations with theHubble Space Telescope have provided us with a wealth of detailed(subarcsec) information on the nebular structures. The inner structureof FLIERs is here illustrated to consist of substructures of variousshapes with an high degree of individually from object to object, alsowithin the same PN. These new data call for deeper thoretical efforts tosolve the problems of cosmic gas dynamics, posed by their observedproperties. An ample account is given of the most relevant originalworks, in an effort to allow the non specialist reader to quickly becomeacquainted with the status of art in the various aspects of the subject.
| The dust content of planetary nebulae: a reappraisal
We have performed a statistical analysis using broad band IRAS data onabout 500 planetary nebulae with the aim of characterizing their dustcontent. Our approach is different from previous studies in that it usesan extensive grid of photoionization models to test the methods forderiving the dust temperature, the dust-to-gas mass ratio and theaverage grain size. In addition, we use only distance independentdiagrams. With our models, we show the effect of contamination by atomiclines in the broad band IRAS fluxes during planetary nebula evolution.We find that planetary nebulae with very different dust-to-gas massratios exist, so that the dust content is a primordial parameter for theinterpretation of far infrared data of planetary nebulae. In contrastwith previous studies, we find no evidence for a decrease in thedust-to-gas mass ratio as the planetary nebulae evolve. We also showthat the decrease in grain size advocated by Natta & Panagia(\cite{NattaPanagia}) and Lenzuni et al. (\cite{Lenzuni}) is an artefactof their method of analysis. Our results suggest that the timescale fordestruction of dust grains in planetary nebulae is larger than theirlifetime. Table~1 is only accessible in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| Hubble Space Telescope Measurements of the Expansion of NGC 6543: Parallax Distance and Nebular Evolution
The optical expansion parallax of NGC 6543 has been detected andmeasured using two epochs of Hubble Space Telescope images separated bya time baseline of only 3 years. We have utilized three separate methodsof deriving the angular expansion of bright fiducials, with excellentagreement in the results. We combine our angular expansion estimateswith spectroscopically obtained expansion velocities to derive adistance to NGC 6543 of 1001+/-269 pc. The deduced kinematic age of theinner bright core of the nebula is 1039+/-259 yr; however, the kinematicage of the polar caps that surround the core is larger-perhaps theresult of deceleration or earlier mass ejection. The morphology andexpansion patterns of NGC 6543 provide insight into a complex history ofaxisymmetric, interacting stellar mass ejections.
|
Submit a new article
Related links
Submit a new link
Member of following groups:
|
Observation and Astrometry data
Catalogs and designations:
|
