Computer Science
Scientific paper
Jul 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008hst..prop11558d&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #11558. Cycle 17
Computer Science
Scientific paper
Four planetary nebulae {PNe} have been found within 130 of the 150 globular clusters {GCs} of our Galaxy. This might not seem like many, but stellar evolution predicts that the old populations of these clusters should contain no PN at all! Observations of three of the four GC PNe show them to have peculiar characteristics, possibly indicative of a binary/merger origin. In particular two of the three observed GC PNe have masses which correspond to main sequence masses 2-3 times the clusters' turn-off masses, sugesting mergers of two, or even three stars have taken place. One of the three observed PNe is H-deficient, a characteristic exhibited by only 5 out of hundreds of field PNe. H-deficient PNe have been associated with binarity. As usual, not all parameters for these three PNe are clean indications of their binary origin. In an approved cycle 15 ACS/WFI proposal we asked to obtain observations of the only GC PN that has never been observed before at high resolution and whose central star has never been detected, as well as of the one H-deficient GC PN for which only low-quality WFPC2 images exist. When ACS stopped working we moved part of the observations to WFPC2. With this proposal we ask to complete our project, by obtaining two ACS/WFI images that could not be efficiently taken with WFPC2. These objects could tip the balance toward a binary interpretation for the GC PNe or make us seriously reconsider our understanding of stellar evolution in old populations.;
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