Fundamental Properties of Pre-Planetary Nebulae: Observations in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Details Fundamental Properties of Pre-Planetary Nebulae: Observations in the Large Magellanic Cloud Fundamental Properties of Pre-Planetary Nebulae: Observations in the Large Magellanic Cloud

May 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006sptz.prop30788s&link_type=abstract

Spitzer Proposal ID #30788

Physics

Scientific paper

We propose to use Spitzer/IRS to observe 35 pre-planetary nebulae (PPN, objects in transition between AGB stars and planetary nebulae) in the LMC. PPNs hold the key to our understanding of the late evolutionary stages of low and intermediate mass stars. As they die, these stars return dust and gas to the interstellar medium, thus providing new material for the birth of new stars and solar systems. These proposed Spitzer observations will address fundamental questions about PPN such as their lifetimes, luminosities, nebular masses, and mass-loss rates. The answers to these questions will provide important constraints on theories of the evolution of PPNs into planetary nebulae, which will bear on the dust and gas return. The answers to such questions cannot be definitively answered by studying galactic PPNs, since the distances to galactic objects are, in general, very poorly known. Observations of PPNs in the LMC will allow us to unambiguously address these issues, since the distance to the LMC is well-known and distances to individual targets in the LMC is a minor perturbation. Spitzer/IRS is the instrument of choice for measuring the SEDs in the mid-infrared and dust absorption features because of its high sensitivity for short integration times. We can observe all 35 targets with high signal-to-noise ratios in 9.9 hours of telescope time.

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