Physical conditions in the transition regions around the Ring Nebula and NGC 7027

Deep long-slit spectra have been obtained in order to map the electron temperature and density in the warm transition regions around the Ring Nebula using the optical [C I] and [N I] forbidden lines. For the first time the [C I] λ8727 line is detected and mapped in this nebula. The temperature-sensitive [C I] nebular to auroral line ratio (λ9824 + λ9850)/λ8727 yields a mean electron temperature of 8250 K, while variations of up to 2000 K can be seen for emission from the different parts of the nebula. The electron density derived from the density-sensitive [N I] doublet ratio, λ5198/λ5200, is similar to that deduced for the fully ionized regions using the [Cl III] λ5517/λ5537 doublet ratio. As compared with lines from ionized regions, the [C I] and [N I] lines show dramatic and complex variations, both in their surface brightness distributions and in their radial velocities along the nebular minor axis, in a manner largely consistent with the bipolar model proposed by Bryce, Balick & Meaburn for the Ring Nebula. The bulk material movement revealed by the large outflow velocities in the transition regions (up to ±35 km s-1), relative to the ionized regions, is likely to generate strong shocks, and thus provides a natural excitation mechanism for the strong near-infrared H2 emission lines observed in the Ring Nebula. We have also observed NGC 7027. The new observations confirm the earlier results of Danziger & Goad, who found a very small (λ9824 + λ9850)/λ8727 ratio for NGC 7027 and correctly attributed it as due to collisional de-excitation of the upper levels of the [C I] nebular lines under the very high-density conditions found in NGC 7027

Chemical abundances of planetary nebulae from optical recombination lines - II. The neon abundance of NGC 7009

We present high-quality observations of Ne II optical recombination lines (ORLs) for the bright Saturn Nebula NGC 7009. The measured line fluxes are used to determine Ne2+/H+ abundance ratios. The results derived from individual multiplets of the 3s–3p and 3p–3d configurations agree reasonably well, although values derived from the 3d–4f transitions, for which only preliminary effective recombination coefficients are available, tend to be higher by a factor of 2 than those derived from the 3–3 transitions – a pattern also seen in other nebulae analysed by us previously. The ORL Ne2+/H+ abundance ratios of NGC 7009 are found to be higher by a factor of 4 than those derived from the optical collisionally excited lines [Ne III] λλ3868, 3967 and from the infrared fine-structure lines [Ne III] 15.5 and 36 μm, similar to the patterns found for C, N and O, analysed previously by Liu et al. The result is in line with the general conclusion that while the ratios of heavy-element abundances, derived from ORLs on the one hand and from CELs on the other hand, vary from target to target and cover a wide range from unity to more than an order of magnitude, the discrepancy factor for the individual elements, C, N, O and Ne, is found to be approximately the same magnitude for a given nebula, a result which may have a fundamental implication for understanding the underlying physical cause(s) of the large discrepancies between heavy-element abundances derived from these two types of emission line. The result also indicates that while the absolute abundances of heavy elements relative to hydrogen remain uncertain, the abundance ratios of heavy elements, such as C/O, N/O and Ne/O, are probably secure, provided that the same type of emission line, i.e. ORLs or CELs, is used to determine the abundances of both heavy elements involved in the ratio. For NGC 7009, the total neon abundances derived from the CELs and ORLs, on a logarithmic scale where H=12.0, are 8.24±0.08 and 8.84±0.25, respectively. The latter is about a factor of 5.5 higher than the solar neon abundance

Neutral carbon far-red forbidden line emission from planetary nubulae

The temperature-sensitive neutral carbon forbidden lines at 8727, 9824 and 9850 Å have been measured simultaneously for the first time from a planetary nebula. The nebulae NGC 2346, NGC 2440, NGC 3132 and IC 4406 were observed. Accurate rest wavelengths of these lines are obtained. The observed line ratios I(λ9824+λ9850)/I(λ8727) are consistent with collisional excitation by electron impacts. It is demonstrated that radiative recombination and stellar continuum fluorescence are unimportant in exciting the observed [CI] lines, with the possible exception of NGC 2440 where a contribution from the former process cannot be ruled out. For NGC 2346, NGC 3132 and IC 4406, the observed [C I]line ratios yield electron temperatures between 7400 and 8000 K, about 1800 to 2800 K lower than those deduced from the [N II], [S III] and [O III] line ratios that we also measured. Electron densities are derived from the observed [N I], [S II] and [Cl III] doublet ratios

The dual dust chemistries of planetary nebulae with [WCL] central stars

The rather rare class of central stars of planetary nebulae that show very low-excitation Wolf–Rayet spectra has been a subject of great interest, particularly in the infrared, since its discovery in the late 1960s. Further peculiarities have been found with the advent of infrared spectroscopy from ISO. Notably, these objects simultaneously betray the presence of regions of carbon-rich and oxygen-rich dust chemistry. We compare and contrast complete ISO spectra between 2 and 200 μm of a sample of six [WC8] to [WC11] central stars, finding many similarities. Among this sample, one star provides strong evidence of quasi-periodic light variations, suggestive of a dust cloud orbiting in a plane from which we view the system

The rich O II recombination spectrum of the planetary nebula NGC 7009: new observations and atomic data

We present new spectrophotometric observations of the rich O II optical recombination line spectrum of the planetary nubula NGC 7009, obtained at a spectral resolution of about 1 Å (FWHM). New intermediate coupling quantal calculations of O II radiative recombination coefficients for the 3d-3p and 4f-3d transitions are presented. The effect of departure from pure LS-coupling is shown to be important. Excellent agreement is found between the observed relative intensities of the O II lines and those calculated from recombination theory allowing for intermediate coupling effects. C, N and O abundances based on our recombination line measurements are derived. In all cases, they are about a factor of 5 higher than the corresponding values deduced from collisionally excited lines, indicating that the discrepancy between the abundances derived from these two different types of emission lines, previously known to exist for C2+, is a common phenomenon, and is probably caused by the same physical process. The nature of this process is still not known. If the discrepancy is due to temperature fluctuations, the implied rms temperature fluctuation prameter t2 is about a factor of 2 larger than that derived by comparing the temperatures deduced from the [O III] forbidden line ratio and from the ratio of the nebular continuum Balmer discontinuity to Hβ. However, if we adopted the electron temperature derived from nebular contiuum Balmer discontinuity instead of that from the [O III]forbidden line ratio, the C and N abundances deduced from ultraviolet collisionally excited lines would come into agreement with those deduced from the optical recombination lines, although the abundance of oxygen deduced from the optical forbidden lines would still be a factor of 2 lower than the corresponding value obtained from the optical recombination lines. The O/H abundance ratio derived from our recombination line analysis of NGC 7009 is more than a factor of 2 higher than the solar oxygen abundance

Balmer Discontinuity Temperatures in the Orion Nebula

We have mapped the Balmer discontinuity temperature Te (BJ) along two long-slit positions in the Orion Nebula, using high-quality spectra obtained with the ESO 1.52 m telescope and with the 3.9 m AAT. One slit was oriented north-south and positioned 40” west of Ö1 C Ori. The second slit was oriented east-west, with its eastern end 10" west of Ö1 C Ori, identical to the slit position previously studied by Walter & Dufour (1994). For the NS slit, both the 1.52 m and the AAT data yield a constant temperature of about 9000 K, with variations of only a few hundred K over a total slit length of about 3#5. For the EW-slit, our data reveal two distinct regions of nearly constant temperatures of 8900 and 7200 K, respectively, possibly resulting from two separate H II regions. No evidence is found for the anomalously low temperatures reported by Walter and Dufour for the same region. © 1995, IOP Publishing Ltd

Meteor trail characteristics observed by high time resolution lidar

We report and analyse the characteristics of 1382 meteor trails based on a sodium data set of ∼680 h. The observations were made at Yanqing (115.97° E, 40.47° N), China by a ground-based Na fluorescence lidar. The temporal resolution of the raw profiles is 1.5 s and the altitude resolution is 96 m. We discover some characteristics of meteor trails different from those presented in previous reports. The occurrence heights of the trails follow a double-peak distribution with the peaks at ∼83.5 km and at ∼95.5 km, away from the peak height of the regular Na layer. 4.7% of the trails occur below 80 km, and 3.25% above 100 km. 75% of the trails are observed in only one 1.5 s profile, suggesting that the dwell time in the laser beam is not greater than 1.5 s. The peak density of the trails as a function of height is similar to that of the background sodium layer. The raw occurrence height distribution is corrected taking account of three factors which affect the relative lifetime of a trail as a function of height: the meteoroid velocity (which controls the ratio of Na / Na+ ablated); diffusional spreading of the trail; and chemical removal of Na. As a result, the bi-modal distribution is more pronounced. Modelling results show that the higher peak corresponds to a meteoroid population with speeds between 20 and 30 km s?1, whereas the lower peak should arise from much slower particles in a near-prograde orbit. It is inferred that most meteoroids in this data set have masses of ∼1 mg, in order for ablation to produce sufficient Na atoms to be detected by lidar. Finally, the evolution of longer-duration meteor trails is investigated. Signals at each altitude channel consist of density enhancement bursts with the growth process usually faster than the decay process, and there exists a progressive phase shift among these altitude channels

Hubble Space Telescope Images of Magellanic Cloud Planetary Nebulae: Data and Correlations across Morphological Classes

The morphology of planetary nebulae (PNs) provides an essential tool for understanding their origin and evolution, since it reflects both the dynamics of the gas ejected at the tip of the asymptotic giant branch phase and the central-star energetics. Here we study the morphology of 27 Magellanic Cloud planetary nebulae (MCPNs) and present an analysis of their physical characteristics across morphological classes. Similar studies have been successfully carried out for Galactic PNs but were compromised by the uncertainty of individual PN distances. We present our own Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Faint Object Camera (FOC) images of 15 MCPNs acquired through a narrowband [O III] λ5007 filter. We use the Richardson-Lucy deconvolution technique on these pre-COSTAR images to achieve post-COSTAR quality. Three PNs imaged before and after COSTAR confirm the high reliability of our deconvolution procedure. We derive morphological classes, dimensions, and surface photometry for all of these PNs. We have combined this sample with HST/PC1 images of 15 MCPNs, three of which are in common with the FOC set acquired by Dopita et al., to obtain the largest MCPNs sample ever examined from the morphological viewpoint. By using the entire database, supplemented with published data from the literature, we have analyzed the properties of the MCPNs and compared them to a typical, complete Galactic sample. Morphology of the MCPNs is then correlated with PN density, chemistry, and evolution

Photoionization modelling based on HST images of Magellanic Cloud planetary nebulae – I. SMC N 2 and SMC N 5

We construct fully self-consistent, detailed photoionization models for two planetary nebulae (PNe) in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), namely SMC N 2 and SMC N 5, to fit optical and UV spectrophotometric observations as well as HST Faint Object Camera (FOC) narrow-band images taken in the light of Hβ. The derived density structure shows that both PNe have a central cavity surrounded by a shell of decreasing density described by a parabolic curve. For both nebulae, our models fail to reproduce the HST images taken in the light of the [O III] λ 5007 line, in the sense that the observed [O III] λ 5007 surface brightness decreases more slowly outside the peak emission than predicted. An effective temperature of Teff = 111 500 K, a stellar surface gravity of log g = 5.45 and a luminosity of L* = 8430 Lʘ are derived for the central star of SMC N2; similarly Teff = 137 500 K, log g = 6.0 and L* = 5850 Lʘ are derived for SMC N 5. SMC N 2 is optically thin and has a total nebular mass (H plus He) of 0.180 Mʘ, while SMC N 5 is optically thick and has an ionized gas mass of 0.194 Mʘ. Using the H-burning SMC metal abundance (Z = 0.004) evolutionary tracks calculated by Vassiliadis & Wood, core masses of 0.674 Mʘ and 0.649Mʘ are derived for SMC N 2 and SMC N 5, respectively. Similarly, from the He-burning evolutionary tracks of Vassiliadis & Wood for progenitor stars of mean LMC heavy-element abundance (Z = 0.008), we find Mc = 0.695 and 0.675 Mʘ for SMC N 2 and SMC N 5, respectively. We find that Hβ images are needed if one is to derive accurate stellar luminosities directly from photoionization modelling. However, in the absence of an Hβ image, photoionization models based on [O III] images (and nebular line intensities) yield accurate values of Teff and log g, which in turn allow reliable stellar masses and luminosities to be derived from a comparison with theoretical evolutionary tracks. We show that the correct nebular ionized mass can be deduced from the nebular Hβ flux, provided the mean nebular density given by the C III] λ 1909/λ 1907 ratio is also known

Chemical abundances of planetary nebulae from optical recombination lines - III. The Galactic bulge PN M 1-42 and M 2-36

We present deep, high-resolution optical spectra of two Galactic bulge planetary nebulae (PN), M 1-42 and M 2-36. The spectra show very prominent and rich optical recombination lines (ORLs) from C, N, O and Ne ions. Infrared spectra from graphic were also obtained using the Short and Long Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS and LWS) on board ISO. The optical and infrared spectra, together with archival IUE spectra, are used to study their density and thermal characteristics and to determine elemental abundances. We determine the optical and UV extinction curve towards these two bulge PN using observed H I and He II recombination line fluxes and the radio free–free continuum flux density. In the optical, the reddening curve is found to be consistent with the standard Galactic extinction law, with a total to selective extinction ratio graphic. However, the extinction in the UV is found to be much steeper, consistent with the earlier finding of Walton, Barlow & Clegg. The rich ORL spectra from C, N, O and Ne ions detected from the two nebulae have been used to determine the abundances of these elements relative to hydrogen. In all cases, the resultant ORL abundances are found to be significantly higher than the corresponding values deduced from collisionally excited lines (CELs). In M 2-36, the discrepancies are about a factor of 5 for all four elements studied. In M 1-42, the discrepancies reach a factor of about 20, the largest ever observed in a PN. M 1-42 also has the lowest Balmer jump temperature ever determined for a PN, graphic, 5660 K lower than its [O III] forbidden line temperature. We compare the observed intensities of the strongest O II ORLs from different electronic configurations, including λ4649 from graphic, λ4072 from graphic, λ4089 from graphic, and λ4590 and λ4190 from the doubly excited graphic and graphic configurations, respectively. In all cases, in spite of the fact that the ratios of the ORL to CEL ionic abundances span a wide range from ∼graphic, the intensity ratios of λ4649, λ4072, λ4590 and λ4190 relative to λ4089 are found to be nearly constant, apart from some small monotonic increase of these ratios as a function of electron temperature. Over a range of Balmer jump temperature from graphic, the variations amount to about 20 per cent for the graphic and graphic transitions and a factor of 2 for the primed transitions, and are consistent with the predictions of the current recombination theory. Our results do not support the claim by Dinerstein, Lafon & Garnett that the relative intensities of O II ORLs vary from nebula to nebula and that the scatter is largest in objects where the discrepancies between ORL and CEL abundances are also the largest. We find that the ORL to CEL abundance ratio is highly correlated with the difference between the temperatures yielded by the [O III] forbidden line ratio and by the H I Balmer jump, providing the strongest evidence so far that the two phenomena, i.e. the disparity between ORL and CEL temperature and abundance determinations, are closely related. However, temperature fluctuations of the type envisaged by Peimbert are unable to explain the low ionic abundances yielded by IR fine-structure lines. The very low Balmer jump temperature of M 1-42, coupled with its very low Balmer decrement density, may also be difficult to explain with a chemically inhomogeneous composite model of the type proposed by Liu et al. for NGC 6153