Bibcode
Miller, Timothy R.; Henry, Richard B. C.; Balick, Bruce; Kwitter, Karen B.; Dufour, Reginald J.; Shaw, Richard A.; Corradi, R. L. M.
Bibliographical reference
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 482, Issue 1, p.278-292
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1
2019
Citations
13
Refereed citations
10
Description
This paper represents the conclusion of a project that had two main
goals: (1) to investigate to what extent planetary nebulae (PNe) are
chemically homogeneous; and (2) to provide physical constraints on the
central star properties of each PN. We accomplished the first goal by
using HST/STIS spectra to measure the abundances of seven elements in
numerous spatial regions within each of six PN (IC 2165, IC 3568, NGC
2440, NGC 5315, NGC 5882, and NGC 7662). The second goal was achieved by
computing a photoionization model of each nebula, using our observed
emission line strengths as constraints. The major finding of our study
is that the nebular abundances of He, C, N, O, Ne, S, and Ar are
consistent with a chemically homogeneous picture for each PN.
Additionally, we found through experimenting with three different
density profiles (constant, Gaussian, and Gaussian with a power law)
that the determination of the central star's temperature and luminosity
is only slightly sensitive to the profile choice. Lastly, post-AGB
evolutionary model predictions of temperature and luminosity available
in the literature were plotted along with the values inferred from the
photoionization model analysis to yield initial and final mass estimates
of each central star.
Related projects
Physics of Ionized Nebulae
The research that is being carried out by the group can be condensed into two main lines: 1) Study of the structure, dynamics, physical conditions and chemical evolution of Galactic and extragalactic ionized nebulae through detailed analysis and modelization of their spectra. Investigation of chemical composition gradients along the disk of our
Jorge
García Rojas