Measuring angular diameters of extended sources

When measuring diameters of partially resolved sources often a technique called gaussian deconvolution is used. This technique yields a gaussian diameter which subsequently has to be multiplied with a conversion factor to obtain the true angular diameter of the source. This conversion factor is a function of the FWHM of the beam or point spread function and also depends on the intrinsic surface brightness distribution of the source. In this paper conversion factors are presented for a number of simple geometries: a circular constant surface brightness disk and a spherical constant emissivity shell, using a range of values for the inner radius. Also more realistic geometries are studied, based on a spherically symmetric photo-ionization model of a planetary nebula. This enables a study of optical depth effects, a comparison between images in various emission lines and the use of power law density distributions. It is found that the conversion factor depends quite critically on the intrinsic surface brightness distribution, which is usually unknown. The uncertainty is particularly large if extended regions of low surface brightness are present in the nebula. In such cases the use of gaussian or second moment deconvolution is not recommended. As an alternative, a new algorithm is presented which allows the determination of the intrinsic FWHM of the source using only the observed surface brightness distribution and the FWHM of the beam. Tests show that this implicit deconvolution method works well in realistic conditions, even when the signal-to-noise is low, provided that the beam size is less than roughly 2/3 of the observed FWHM and the beam profile can be approximated by a gaussian.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

CKVul: evolving nebula and three curious background stars

We analyse the remnants of CK Vul (Nova Vul 1670) using optical imaging and spectroscopy. The imaging, obtained between 1991 and 2010, spans 5.6% of the life-time of the nebula. The flux of the nebula decreased during the last 2 decades. The central source still maintains the ionization of the innermost part of the nebula, but recombination proceeds in more distant parts of the nebula. Surprisingly, we discovered two stars located within 10 arcsec of the expansion centre of the radio emission that are characterized by pronounced long term variations and one star with high proper motion. The high proper motion star is a foreground object, and the two variable stars are background objects. The photometric variations of two variables are induced by a dusty cloud ejected by CK Vul and passing through the line of sight to those stars. The cloud leaves strong lithium absorption in the spectra of the stars. We discuss the nature of the object in terms of recent observations.Comment: Published in MNRAS, available at http://mnras.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/stt426

Photo-ionization modelling of planetary nebulae -- II. Galactic bulge nebulae, a comparison with literature results

We have constructed photo-ionization models of five galactic bulge planetary nebulae using our automatic method which enables a fully self-consistent determination of the physical parameters of a planetary nebula. The models are constrained using the spectrum, the IRAS and radio fluxes and the angular diameter of the nebula. We also conducted a literature search for physical parameters determined with classical methods for these nebulae. Comparison of the distance independent physical parameters with published data shows that the stellar temperatures generally are in good agreement and can be considered reliable. The literature data for the electron temperature, electron density and also for the abundances show a large spread, indicating that the use of line diagnostics is not reliable and that the accuracy of these methods needs to be improved. Comparison of the various abundance determinations indicates that the uncertainty in the electron temperature is the main source of uncertainty in the abundance determination. The stellar magnitudes predicted by the photo-ionization models are in good agreement with observed values.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

The H II Region/PDR Connection: Self-Consistent Calculations of Physical Conditions in Star-Forming Regions

We have performed a series of calculations designed to reproduce infrared diagnostics used to determine physical conditions in star forming regions. We self-consistently calculate the thermal and chemical structure of an H II region and photodissociation region (PDR) that are in pressure equilibrium. This differs from previous work, which used separate calculations for each gas phase. Our calculations span a wide range of stellar temperatures, gas densities, and ionization parameters. We describe improvements made to the spectral synthesis code Cloudy that made these calculations possible. These include the addition of a molecular network with ~1000 reactions involving 68 molecular species and improved treatment of the grain physics. Data from the Spitzer First Look Survey, along with other archives, are used to derive important physical characteristics of the H II region and PDR. These include stellar temperatures, electron densities, ionization parameters, UV radiation flux, and PDR density. Finally, we calculate the contribution of the H II region to PDR emission line diagnostics, which allows for a more accurate determination of physical conditions in the PDR.Comment: 60 pages, 35 figures, to be published in the Astrophysical Journal. Version with full resolution is available at http://www.pa.uky.edu/~nicholas/hii_pdr_high_res.pd

The evolving spectrum of the planetary nebula Hen 2-260

We analysed the planetary nebula Hen 2-260 using optical spectroscopy and photometry. We compared our observations with the data from literature to search for evolutionary changes. The nebular line fluxes were modelled with the Cloudy photoionization code to derive the stellar and nebular parameters. The planetary nebula shows a complex structure and possibly a bipolar outflow. The nebula is relatively dense and young. The central star is just starting $\rm O^+$ ionization ($\rm T_{eff} \approx 30,000 \, K$). Comparison of our observations with literature data indicates a 50% increase of the [OIII] 5007 \AA\ line flux between 2001 and 2012. We interpret it as the result of the progression of the ionization of $\rm O^{+}$. The central star evolves to higher temperatures at a rate of $\rm 45 \pm 7\,K\, yr^{-1}$. The heating rate is consistent with a final mass of $\rm 0.626 ^{+0.003}_{-0.005} \, M_{\odot}$ or $\rm 0.645 ^{+0.008}_{-0.008} \, M_{\odot}$ for two different sets of post-AGB evolutionary tracks from literature. The photometric monitoring of Hen 2-260 revealed variations on a timescale of hours or days. The variability may be caused by pulsations of the star. The temperature evolution of the central star can be traced using spectroscopic observations of the surrounding planetary nebula spanning a timescale of roughly a decade. This allows us to precisely determine the stellar mass, since the pace of the temperature evolution depends critically on the core mass. The kinematical age of the nebula is consistent with the age obtained from the evolutionary track. The final mass of the central star is close to the mass distribution peak for central stars of planetary nebulae found in other studies. The object belongs to a group of young central stars of planetary nebulae showing photometric variability.Comment: accepted for publication in A&