Bibcode
Sterling, N. C.; Madonna, S.; Butler, K.; García-Rojas, J.; Mashburn, A. L.; Morisset, C.; Luridiana, V.; Roederer, I. U.
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 840, Issue 2, article id. 80, 8 pp. (2017).
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5
2017
Journal
Citations
17
Refereed citations
15
Description
We identify [Se iii] 1.0994 μm in the planetary nebula (PN) NGC 5315
and [Kr vi] 1.2330 μm in three PNe from spectra obtained with the
Folded-Port InfraRed Echellette (FIRE) spectrometer on the 6.5 m Baade
Telescope. Se and Kr are the two most widely detected neutron-capture
elements in astrophysical nebulae, and can be enriched by s-process
nucleosynthesis in PN progenitor stars. The detection of [Se iii] 1.0994
μm is particularly valuable when paired with observations of [Se iv]
2.2864 μm, as it can be used to improve the accuracy of nebular Se
abundance determinations, and allows Se ionization correction factor
(ICF) schemes to be empirically tested for the first time. We present
new effective collision strength calculations for Se2+ and
Kr5+, which we use to compute ionic abundances. In NGC 5315,
we find that the Se abundance computed from
Se3+/H+ is lower than that determined with ICFs
that incorporate Se2+/H+. We compute new Kr ICFs
that take Kr5+/H+ into account, by fitting
correlations found in grids of Cloudy models between Kr ionic fractions
and those of more abundant elements, and use these to derive Kr
abundances in four PNe. Observations of [Se iii] and [Kr vi] in a larger
sample of PNe, with a range of excitation levels, are needed to
rigorously test the ICF prescriptions for Se and our new Kr ICFs.
This paper includes data obtained with the 6.5-m Magellan Telescopes at
Las Campanas Observatory, Chile.
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