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Публикации по объекту
Planetary Nebula Abundances and Morphology: Probing the Chemical Evolution of the Milky Way
This paper presents a homogeneous study of abundances in a sample of 79northern Galactic planetary nebulae (PNe) whose morphological classeshave been uniformly determined. Ionic abundances and plasma diagnosticswere derived from selected optical line strengths in the literature, andelemental abundances were estimated with the ionization correctionfactor developed by Kingsbourgh & Barlow in 1994. We compare theelemental abundances to the final yields obtained from stellar evolutionmodels of low- and intermediate-mass stars, and we confirm that mostbipolar PNe have high nitrogen and helium abundance and are the likelyprogeny of stars with main-sequence mass greater than 3Msolar. We derive =0.27 and discuss the implication of such ahigh ratio in connection with the solar neon abundance. We determine theGalactic gradients of oxygen and neon and foundΔlog(O/H)/ΔR=-0.01 dex kpc-1 andΔlog(Ne/H)/ΔR=-0.01 dex kpc-1. These flat PNgradients are irreconcilable with Galactic metallicity gradientsflattening with time.
| Revealing the Mid-Infrared Emission Structure of IRAS 16594-4656 and IRAS 07027-7934
TIMMI2 diffraction-limited mid-infrared images of a multipolarproto-planetary nebula IRAS 16594-4656 and a young [WC] ellipticalplanetary nebula IRAS 07027-7934 are presented. Their dust shells arefor the first time resolved (only marginally in the case of IRAS07027-7934) by applying the Lucy-Richardson deconvolution algorithm tothe data, taken under exceptionally good seeing conditions (<=0.5").IRAS 16594-4656 exhibits a two-peaked morphology at 8.6, 11.5, and 11.7μm, which is mainly attributed to emission from PAHs. Ourobservations suggest that the central star is surrounded by a toroidalstructure, observed edge-on, with a radius of 0.4" (~640 AU at anassumed distance of 1.6 kpc) and with its polar axis atP.A.~80deg, coincident with the orientation defined by onlyone of the bipolar outflows identified in the HST optical images. Wesuggest that the material expelled from the central source is currentlybeing collimated in this direction and that the multiple outflowformation has not been coeval. IRAS 07027-7934 shows a bright,marginally extended emission (FWHM=0.3") in the mid-infrared with aslightly elongated shape along the north-south direction, consistentwith the morphology detected by HST in the near-infrared. Themid-infrared emission is interpreted as the result of the combinedcontribution of small, highly ionized PAHs and relatively hot dustcontinuum. We propose that IRAS 07027-7934 may have recently experienceda thermal pulse (likely at the end of the AGB) which has produced aradical change in the chemistry of its central star.Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory (LaSilla, Chile), on observations made with ISO, an ESA project withinstruments funded by ESA Member States (especially the PI countries:France, Germany, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom) with theparticipation of ISAS and NASA, and on observations made with theNASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained from the data archive at theSpace Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Associationof Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc., under NASAcontract NAS5-26555.
| Discovery of Multiple Coaxial Rings in the Quadrupolar Planetary Nebula NGC 6881
We report the discovery of multiple two-dimensional rings in thequadrupolar planetary nebula NGC 6881. As many as four pairs of ringsare seen in the bipolar lobes, and three rings are seen in the centraltorus. While the rings in the lobes have the same axis as one pair ofthe bipolar lobes, the inner rings are aligned with the other pair. Thetwo pairs of bipolar lobes are likely to be carved out by two separatehigh-velocity outflows from the circumstellar material left over fromthe asymptotic giant branch (AGB) wind. The two-dimensional rings couldbe the results of dynamical instabilities or the consequence of a fastoutflow interacting with remnants of discrete AGB circumstellar shells.
| The 3-D shaping of NGC 6741: A massive, fast-evolving Planetary Nebula at the recombination-reionization edge
We infer the gas kinematics, diagnostics and ionic radial profiles,distance and central star parameters, nebular photo-ionization model,spatial structure and evolutionary phase of the Planetary Nebula NGC6741 by means of long-slit ESO NTT+EMMI high-resolution spectra at nineposition angles, reduced and analysed according to the tomographic and3-D methodologies developed at the Astronomical Observatory of Padua(Italy). NGC 6741 (distance≃2.0 kpc, age≃ 1400 yr, ionizedmass Mion≃ 0.06 Mȯ) is a dense(electron density up to 12 000 cm-3), high-excitation,almost-prolate ellipsoid (0.036 pc × 0.020 pc × 0.018 pc,major, intermediate and minor semi-axes, respectively), surrounded by asharp low-excitation skin (the ionization front), and embedded in aspherical (radius≃ 0.080 pc), almost-neutral, high-density (n(HI)≃ 7 ×103 atoms cm-3) halo containinga large fraction of the nebular mass (Mhalo≥ 0.20Mȯ). The kinematics, physical conditions and ionicstructure indicate that NGC 6741 is in a deep recombination phase,started about 200 years ago, and caused by the rapid luminosity drop ofthe massive (M*=0.66{-}0.68 Mȯ), hot (logT* ≃ 5.23) and faint (logL*/Lȯ ≃ 2.75) post-AGB star, which hasexhausted the hydrogen-shell nuclear burning and is moving along thewhite dwarf cooling sequence. The general expansion law of the ionizedgas in NGC 6741, Vexp(km s-1)=13 × R arcsec,fails in the innermost, highest-excitation layers, which move slowerthan expected. The observed deceleration is ascribable to the luminositydrop of the central star (the decreasing pressure of the hot-bubble nolonger balances the pressure of the ionized gas), and appears instriking contrast to recent reports inferring that acceleration is acommon property of the Planetary Nebulae innermost layers. A detailedcomparative analysis proves that the "U"-shaped expansion velocity fieldis a spurious, incorrect result due to a combination of: (a) simplisticassumptions (spherical shell hypothesis for the nebula); (b) unfitreduction method (emission profiles integrated along the slit); and (c)inappropriate diagnostic choice (λ4686 Å of He II, i.e. athirteen fine-structure components recombination line). Some generalimplications for the shaping mechanisms of Planetary Nebulae arediscussed.
| 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.
| Planetary nebula distances re-examined: an improved statistical scale
The distances of planetary nebulae (PNe) are still quite uncertain.Although observational estimates are available for a small proportion ofPNe, based on statistical parallax and the like, such distances are verypoorly determined for the majority of galactic PNe. In particular,estimates of so-called `statistical' distance appear to differ byfactors of ~2.7.We point out that there is a well-defined correlation between the 5-GHzluminosity of the sources, L5, and their brightnesstemperatures, TB. This represents a different trend to thoseinvestigated in previous statistical analyses, and permits us todetermine independent distances to a further 449 outflows. Thesedistances are shown to be closely comparable to those determined using aTB-R correlation, providing that the latter trend is taken tobe non-linear.This non-linearity in the TB-R plane has not been noted inprevious analyses, and is likely responsible for the broad (andconflicting) ranges of distance that have previously been published.Finally, we point out that there is a close accord between observedtrends within the L5-TB and TB-Rplanes, and the variation predicted through nebular evolutionarymodelling. This is used to suggest that observational biases areprobably modest, and that our revised distance scale is reasonablytrustworthy.
| The distances of Type I planetary nebulae
The distances D of planetary nebulae (PNe) are still extremelyuncertain. Although a variety of methods have been used to evaluate thisparameter, these are often in conflict, and subject to large random andsystematic errors. It is therefore important to evaluate D using as manyindependent procedures as possible. We outline here one further way inwhich this parameter may be assessed. It is noted that where the nebularmass range is narrow, then one might expect observed PNe radii to beroughly similar. This, where it occurs, would also result in acorrelation between their angular diameters Θ, and distances D.We find that just such a trend occurs for Type I nebulae, and we employthis to determine distances to a further 44 such outflows. Our meanvalues of D appear similar to those of Zhang [ApJS 98 (1995) 659],implying a relatively long PNe distance scale.
| 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.
| Rings in the haloes of planetary nebulae
We present a search for rings or arcs in the haloes of planetary nebulae(PNe). We discovered such structures in eight PNe, tripling the sampleof PNe with known rings. This shows that, contrary to what was believedto date, the occurrence of mass loss fluctuations with timescales of102-103 yrs at the end of the asymptotic giantbranch phase (AGB) is common. We estimate a lower limit of theoccurrence rate of rings in PN haloes to be ˜35%. Using these newdetections and the cases previously known, we discuss the statisticalproperties of ring systems in PNe haloes. We estimate that the massmodulation producing the rings takes place during the last 10 000 or 20000 yrs of AGB evolution. In PNe, the spacing between rings ranges from<0.01 pc to 0.06 pc, significantly larger than those seen inproto-PNe. This, together with the finding of a possible positivecorrelation of spacing with the post-AGB age of the nebulae, suggeststhat the spacing of the rings increases with time. These properties, aswell as the modest surface brightness amplitudes of rings, areconsistent with the predictions of the dust-driven wind instabilitymodel explored by Meijerink et al. (\cite{Me03}), but do not immediatelyexclude other proposed models.Based on observations obtained at: the 2.5 INT telescope of the IsaacNewton Group and the 2.6 m NOT telescope operated by NOTSA in theSpanish Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos of the Instituto deAstrofísica de Canarias; the 3.5 m NTT and the 2.2 MPG/ESO at theEuropean Southern Observatory in Chile; and the NASA/ESA Hubble SpaceTelescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which isoperated by AURA for NASA under contract NAS5-26555.
| 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}
| The relation between elemental abundances and morphology in planetary nebulae
An investigation of the variation of elemental abundances with planetarynebula morphology is of considerable interest, since it has a bearingupon how such sources are formed, and from which progenitors they areejected. Recent advances in morphological classification now enable usto assess such trends for a statistically significant number of sources.We find, as a result, that the distribution N[log(X/H)] of sources withrespect to elemental abundance (X/H) varies between the differingmorphologies. Circular sources tend to peak towards low abundancevalues, whilst bipolar nebulae (BPNe) peak towards somewhat highervalues. This applies for most elemental species, although it is perhapsleast apparent for oxygen. In contrast, elliptical sources appear todisplay much broader functions N[log(X/H)], which trespass upon thedomains of both circular and elliptical planetary nebulae (PNe).We take these trends to imply that circular sources derive fromlower-mass progenitors, bipolar sources from higher-mass stars, and thatelliptical nebulae derive from all masses of progenitor, high and low.Whilst such trends are also evident in values of mean abundance, they are much less clear. Only in the cases of He/H, N/H,Ne/H and perhaps Ar/H is there evidence for significant abundancedifferences.Certain BPNe appear to possess low abundance ratios He/H and Ar/H, andthis confirms that a few such outflows may arise from lower-massprogenitors. Similarly, we note that ratios are quite modestin elliptical planetary nebulae, and not much different from those forcircular and bipolar PNe; a result that conflicts with the expectationsof at least one model of shell formation.
| HST Observations of Young Planetary Nebulae
Not Available
| Introductory Review (invited review)
Not Available
| The Correlations between Planetary Nebula Morphology and Central Star Evolution: Analysis of the Northern Galactic Sample
Northern Galactic planetary nebulae (PNs) are studied to disclosepossible correlations between the morphology of the nebulae and theevolution of the central stars (CSs). To this end, we have built thebest database available to date, accounting for homogeneity andcompleteness. We use updated statistical distances and an updatedmorphological classification scheme, and we calculate Zanstratemperatures for a large sample of PNs. With our study we confirm thatround, elliptical, and bipolar PNs have different spatial distributionswithin the Galaxy, with average absolute distances to the Galactic planeof 0.73, 0.38, and 0.21 kpc, respectively. We also find evidence thatthe distributions of the CS masses are different across thesemorphological groups, although we do not find that CSs hosted by bipolarPNs are hotter, on average, than CSs within round and elliptical PNs.Our results are in broad agreement with previous analyses, indicatingthat round, elliptical, and bipolar PNs evolve from progenitors indifferent mass ranges and might belong to different stellar populations,as also indicated by the helium and nitrogen abundances of PNs ofdifferent morphology.
| 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
| The Nature of Low-Ionization Microstructures in PNe
We discuss here the nature of a rich zoo of knots, filaments, jets andjet-like systems, located--in terms of morphology and kinematics--eitherinside or outside the main nebular bodies of planetary nebulae (PNe).These features are low-ionization structures (LISs) especially prominentin [N II] and other low-ionization line emission, which are usuallysmaller than the main morphological components of the PNe (spherical andelliptical shells, bipolar lobes, and haloes). We have recently shownthat LISs are equally spread amongst all morphological classes of PNe(Gonçalves, Corradi, & Mampaso 2001).
| The distance scale of planetary nebulae
By collecting distances from the literature, a set of 73 planetarynebulae with mean distances of high accuracy is derived. This sample isused for recalibration of the mass-radius relationship, used by manystatistical distance methods. An attempt to correct for a statisticalpeculiarity, where errors in the distances influences the mass-radiusrelationship by increasing its slope, has been made for the first time.Distances to PNe in the Galactic Bulge, derived by this new method aswell as other statistical methods from the last decade, are then usedfor the evaluation of these methods as distance indicators. In order ofachieving a Bulge sample that is free from outliers we derive newcriteria for Bulge membership. These criteria are much more stringentthan those used hitherto, in the sense that they also discriminateagainst background objects. By splitting our Bulge sample in two, onewith optically thick (small) PNe and one with optically thin (large)PNe, we find that our calibration is of higher accuracy than most othercalibrations. Differences between the two subsamples, we believe, aredue to the incompleteness of the Bulge sample, as well as the dominanceof optical diameters in the ``thin'' sample and radio diameters in the``thick'' sample. Our final conclusion is that statistical methods givedistances that are at least as accurate as the ones obtained from manyindividual methods. Also, the ``long'' distance scale of Galactic PNe isconfirmed.
| 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.
| 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.
| 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.
| The tetra-lobed planetary nebula NGC 1501
Direct imagery and long-slit, spatially resolved echellograms of thehigh excitation planetary nebula NGC 1501 allowed us to study in detailthe expansion velocity field, the physical conditions (electrontemperature, electron density, ionization) and the spatial distributionof the nebular gas. An electron temperature of 11500 K and a turbulenceof 18 km s-1 are derived by comparing the Hα and [OIII]emission line profiles, but large, small scale fluctuations of boththese quantities are present in the ionized gas. The radial densitydistribution shows external peaks up to 1400 cm-3; they havesteep outwards profiles and extended inwards tails probably originatedby Rayleigh-Taylor instability and winds interaction. The complexity ofthe expanding motions indicates that the main part of NGC 1501 is a thinellipsoid of moderate ellipticity, but the presence of a pair of largelobes along both the major and the intermediate axes and of a multitudeof smaller bumps spread on the whole nebular surface, makes the general3-D structure of NGC 1501 like a boiling, tetra-lobed shell. Thispeculiar morphology can be qualitatively explained in terms ofinteraction of the slow nebular material with the intense and fast windfrom the WC4/OVI central star.
| Jets and Jet-Like Structures of Low-Ionization in Planetary Nebulae
In this contribution we discuss new results of a program aimed atstudying the physical properties, origin and evolution of``low-ionization, small-scale structures in PNe''. Within this projectwe classify and discuss the properties of a sample of more than 50 PNe,collected from the literature, in the light of their possible formationmechanisms. In addition, we obtained images and spectra for 10 of thesePNe, finding low-ionization structures with very different propertiesrelative to each other, in terms of expansion velocities, shapes, sizesand locations relative to the main nebular components. Several physicalprocesses have to be invoked in order to account for the formation andevolution of jets and jet-like structures observed. We present here someresults which are illustrative of our work--on IC 4593, NGC 3918, NGC6337--comparing the different low-ionization structures in these PNe andillustrating some of the questions that we try to address. The mostinteresting result we obtained is that the collimated LIS present alinear increase in the expansion velocity from inner to outer regions.This is an important constraint on the models and is, in fact, one ofthe predictions of the interacting-stellar-wind models for the formationof jets, if stellar magnetic fields are considered.
| 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.
| Astrophysics in 1999
The year 1999 saw the arrival of a star with three planets, a universewith three parameters, and a solar corona that could be heated at leastthree ways. In addition, there were at least three papers on everyquestion that has ever been asked in astrophysics, from ``Will theUniverse expand forever?'' to ``Does mantle convection occur in one ortwo layers?'' The answers generally were, ``Yes,'' ``No,'' and ``None ofthe above,'' to each of the questions. The authors have done their bestto organize the richness around centers defined by objects, methods, andmadnesses.
| H2 and Brγ Narrowband Imaging of Bipolar Planetary Nebulae
We present near-IR narrowband continuum-subtracted images in theH2 2.122 μm, and Brγ 2.166 μm emission lines fora sample of 15 bipolar planetary nebulae (PNe). H2 emissionwas definitely detected for most of the objects in this sample (13 of15). The very high H2 detection rate supports the idea thatbipolar PNe have important reservoirs of molecular material and offersuitable physical conditions for the excitation of H2. Thestrength of the H2 emission and the H2/Brγflux ratio are found to correlate with the morphology of the bipolar PNeobserved. Bipolar PNe with broad and bright rings exhibit strongerH2 emission than bipolar PNe with narrow twists. High-quality(subarcsec) [N II] and Hα optical images have been used to comparethe distribution of the ionized and molecular material. TheH2 emission lies just outside the optical [N II] emissionzone.
| 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
| Infrared Planetary Nebulae in the NRAO VLA Sky Survey
In order to construct a sample of planetary nebulae (PNe) unbiased bydust extinction, we first selected the 1358 sources in the IRAS PointSource Catalog north of J2000 declination delta=-40^deg having measuredS(25 μm)>=1 Jy and colors characteristic of PNe: detections orupper limits consistent with both S(12 μm)<=0.35S(25 μm) andS(25 μm)>=0.35S(60 μm). The majority are radio-quietcontaminating sources such as asymptotic giant branch stars. Free-freeemission from genuine PNe should make them radio sources. The 1.4 GHzNRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) images and source catalog were used to rejectradio-quiet mid-infrared sources. We identified 454 IRAS sources withradio sources brighter than S~2.5 mJy beam^-1 (equivalent to T~0.8 K inthe 45" FHWM NVSS beam) by positional coincidence. They comprise 332known PNe in the Strasbourg-ESO Catalogue of Galactic Planetary Nebulaeand 122 candidate PNe, most of which lie at very low Galactic latitudes.Exploratory optical spectroscopic observations suggest that most ofthese candidates are indeed PNe optically dimmed by dust extinction,although some contamination remains from H II regions, Seyfert galaxies,etc. Furthermore, the NVSS failed to detect only 4% of the known PNe inour infrared sample. Thus it appears that radio selection can greatlyimprove the reliability of PN candidate samples withoutsacrificingcompleteness.
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