Identification of three new proto-Planetary Nebulae exhibiting the unidentified feature at 21 um

Among its great findings, the IRAS mission showed the existence of an unidentified mid-IR feature around 21 um. Since its discovery, this feature has been detected in all C-rich proto-PNe of intermediate spectral type (A-G) and - weakly - in a few PNe and AGB stars, but the nature of its carriers remains unknown. In this paper, we show the detection of this feature in the spectra of three new stars transiting from the AGB to the PN stage obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope. Following a recent suggestion, we try to model the SEDs of our targets with amorphous carbon and FeO, which might be responsible for the unidentified feature. The fit thus obtained is not completely satisfactory, since the shape of the feature is not well matched. In the attempt to relate the unidentified feature to other dust features, we retrieved mid-IR spectra of all the 21-um sources currently known from ISO and Spitzer on-line archives and noticed a correlation between the flux emitted in the 21-um feature and that emitted at 7 and 11 um (PAH bands and HAC broad emission). Such a correlation may point to a common nature of the carriers.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

Spitzer detection of PAH and silicate features in post-AGB stars and young Planetary Nebulae

We have observed a small sample of hot post-AGB stars with the InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC) and the InfraRed Spectrograph (IRS) on-board the Spitzer Space Telescope. The stars were selected from the literature on the basis of their far-Infrared excess (i.e., post-AGB candidates) and B spectral type (i.e., close to the ionization of the envelope). The combination of our IRAC observations with 2MASS and IRAS catalog data, along with previous radio observations in the cm range (where available) allowed us to model the SEDs of our targets and find that in almost all of them at least two shells of dust at different temperatures must be present, the hot dust component ranging up to 1000 K. In several targets grains larger than 1 micron are needed to match the far-IR data points. In particular, in IRAS 17423-1755 grains up to 100 micron must be introduced to match the emission in the mm range. We obtained IRS spectra to identify the chemistry of the envelopes and found that more than 1/3 of the sources in our sample have mixed chemistry, showing both mid-IR bands attributed to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) and silicate features. The analysis of the PAH features indicates that these molecules are located in the outflows, far away from the central stars. We consider the larger than expected percentage of mixed-chemistry targets as a selection bias towards stars with a disk or torus around them. Our results strengthen the current picture of mixed chemistry being due to the spatial segregation of different dust populations in the envelopes.Comment: 20 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication on Ap

A massive nebula around the Luminous Blue Variable star RMC143 revealed by ALMA

The luminous blue variable (LBV) RMC143 is located in the outskirts of the 30~Doradus complex, a region rich with interstellar material and hot luminous stars. We report the $3\sigma$ sub-millimetre detection of its circumstellar nebula with ALMA. The observed morphology in the sub-millimetre is different than previously observed with HST and ATCA in the optical and centimetre wavelength regimes. The spectral energy distribution (SED) of RMC143 suggests that two emission mechanisms contribute to the sub-mm emission: optically thin bremsstrahlung and dust. Both the extinction map and the SED are consistent with a dusty massive nebula with a dust mass of $0.055\pm0.018~M_{\odot}$ (assuming $\kappa_{850}=1.7\rm\,cm^{2}\,g^{-1}$). To date, RMC143 has the most dusty LBV nebula observed in the Magellanic Clouds. We have also re-examined the LBV classification of RMC143 based on VLT/X-shooter spectra obtained in 2015/16 and a review of the publication record. The radiative transfer code CMFGEN is used to derive its fundamental stellar parameters. We find an effective temperature of $\sim 8500$~K, luminosity of log$(L/L_{\odot}) = 5.32$, and a relatively high mass-loss rate of $1.0 \times 10^{-5}~M_{\odot}$~yr$^{-1}$. The luminosity is much lower than previously thought, which implies that the current stellar mass of $\sim8~M_{\odot}$ is comparable to its nebular mass of $\sim 5.5~M_{\odot}$ (from an assumed gas-to-dust ratio of 100), suggesting that the star has lost a large fraction of its initial mass in past LBV eruptions or binary interactions. While the star may have been hotter in the past, it is currently not hot enough to ionize its circumstellar nebula. We propose that the nebula is ionized externally by the hot stars in the 30~Doradus star-forming region.Comment: Paper accepted by A&A on 09/05/2019 and in proof stage. Second comments by referee are included in this versio

IC 4406: a radio-infrared view

IC 4406 is a large (about 100'' x 30'') southern bipolar planetary nebula, composed of two elongated lobes extending from a bright central region, where there is evidence for the presence of a large torus of gas and dust. We show new observations of this source performed with IRAC (Spitzer Space Telescope) and the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The radio maps show that the flux from the ionized gas is concentrated in the bright central region and originates in a clumpy structure previously observed in H_alpha, while in the infrared images filaments and clumps can be seen in the extended nebular envelope, the central region showing toroidal emission. Modeling of the infrared emission leads to the conclusion that several dust components are present in the nebula.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal; v.2 has changes in both figures and content; preprint forma