Galactic Bulge Planetary Nebulae as Probes of Stellar Evolution

Physics

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

Scientific paper

The study of the physical properties of planetary nebulae (PNe) is hampered in our Galaxy by the poor knowledge of their distances. This problem can be overcome if we concentrate our analysis on well- defined samples where the distance is known with a reasonable accuracy, as is the case of the Galactic Bulge population of PNe. We propose to obtain 5-37 um IRS spectra of a carefully selected sample of bulge PNe, where these sources are characterized by the presence of a combination of solid state features (from the dust grains) and nebular emission lines superimposed on a strong dust continuum. With the Spitzer Space Telescope we will be able to: (i) determine the dominant chemistry (C-rich vs. O-rich) of the PN dust through the study of the solid state features; (ii) establish connections between the spectral properties observed in the infrared spectra and the evolutionary stage of the PNe; (iii) test the current evolutionary models which predict the dredge-up of processed material to the surface as a function of the mass of the progenitor star; (iv) recover the AGB mass loss history from the analysis of the overall spectral energy distribution with the help of time-dependent hydrodynamical models; (v) determine the contribution of the infrared to the total PN luminosity; (vi) study the influence of the metallicity on the initial mass - final mass relation deduced from the observations; and (vii) derive the physical parameters and chemical abundances of the ionized gas with unprecedented accuracy by measuring the nebular emission lines detected in the infrared after this information is combined with ground-based spectroscopy in the optical and/or in the UV.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Galactic Bulge Planetary Nebulae as Probes of Stellar Evolution does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Galactic Bulge Planetary Nebulae as Probes of Stellar Evolution, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Galactic Bulge Planetary Nebulae as Probes of Stellar Evolution will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1824518

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.