Bibcode
DOI
Esteban, Cesar
Bibliographical reference
Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, v.105, p.320
Advertised on:
3
1993
Citations
4
Refereed citations
4
Description
The results of detailed, high-spatial-resolution spectroscopy for a
sample of eleven nebulae surrounding Wolf-Rayet stars: S308, NGC 2359,
NGC 3199, Anon (MR 26), RCW 78, RCW 104, G 2.4+1.4, M 1-67, L 69.8+1.74,
Anon (MR 100), and NGC 6888, are presented. The study of the ionization
structure, using diagnostic diagrams, indicates that photoionization is
the main source of excitation in the observed sample. Physical
conditions and chemical abundances have been derived for as many of the
observed slit positions as possible in each nebula. The observed
differential abundances, relative to H II regions at the same
galactocentric distances, allow us to infer whether any chemical
enrichment has occurred in the nebulae. Analyzing this parameter has
allowed a chemical classification of the whole sample, distinguishing
three different abundance patterns: stellar ejecta, diluted nebula, and
H II region, which are correlated with other physical properties of the
nebulae and central stars. The most enriched objects are overabundant in
N and He, and O deficient--a behavior that can only be explained if they
consist of almost pure stellar ejecta and, hence, reflect the products
of CNO nucleosynthesis. A new observational method has been designed to
facilitate a chemo-dynamical study of objects which have emission lines.
It has been applied successfully to NGC 6888, permitting us to isolate
chemically enriched nebular matter in expansion, coming from the central
star, with respect to the surrounding interstellar medium, which shows
abundances typical of the solar vicinity. Detailed photoionization
modelling has been performed for eight of the sample nebulae. The
objects have been modelled ``physically'' using photoionization codes
taking into account their physical and chemical properties and the most
recent Wolf-Rayet model atmospheres for the ionizing flux distribution.
This modelling provided the fundamental parameters for the central
stars: luminosity, effective temperature, and radius, as well as
properties for the associated nebulae: number of ionizing photons,
ionization parameter, mass, and optical depths. A correlation between
effective temperature and spectral subtype of the central star has been
found. The effect of line blanketing on the results has been explored,
finding that it can be very important for the coolest stars. For the
first time, the radius of the central star and its spectral subtype
appears to be well correlated. Comparing the results with evolutionary
models for massive stars it is found that (a) the position of the
central stars of the modelled nebulae in the H-R diagram indicates that
their initial masses are, in general, in the range 25-40 solar mass; (b)
the chemical abundances found in the most enriched objects are similar
to the expected nucleosynthesis predicted for the surface of stars with
initial masses in the range 25-40 solar mass, at a particular point
towards the Wolf-Rayet stage. The results suggest that the bulk of the
enriched material should be ejected at, or very near to, the end of the
cool hypergiant or red-supergiant phase. The empirical stellar yields in
He and N for the most enriched objects in the sample has been estimated
and compared with those for other reference objects such as Of shells
and planetary nebulae. A substantial difference between the enrichment
produced by massive stars in stellar-ejecta ring nebulae and that by
less massive stars in planetary nebulae has been found, showing a
relative overproduction of helium in massive stars. (SECTION:
Dissertation Abstracts)