We present mid-infrared (MIR) photometry for 367 Galactic disk, bulge and Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) planetary nebulae, determined using GLIMPSE II and SAGE data acquired using the Spitzer Space Telescope. This has permitted us to make a comparison between the luminosity functions of bulge and LMC planetary nebulae, and between the MIR colours of all three categories of source. It is determined that whilst the 3.6 microns luminosity function of the LMC and bulge sources are likely to be closely similar, the [3.6]-[5.8] and [5.8]-[8-0] indices of LMC nebulae are different from those of their disk and bulge counterparts. This may arise because of enhanced 6.2 microns PAH emission within the LMC sources, and/or as a result of differences between the spectra of LMC PNe and those of their Galactic counterparts. We also determine that the more evolved disk sources listed in the MASH catalogues of Parker et al. and Miszalski et al. (2008) have similar colours to those of the less evolved (and higher surface brightness) sources in the catalogue of Acker et al. (1992); a result which appears at variance with previous studies of these sources.
We have used the Wide Field Spectrograph on the Australian National University 2.3-m telescope to perform the integral field spectroscopy for a sample of the Galactic planetary nebulae. The spatially resolved velocity distributions of the H$α$ emission line were used to determine the kinematic features and nebular orientations. Our findings show that some bulge planetary nebulae toward the Galactic center have a particular orientation.
We present six new planetary nebulae (PNe) discovered in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) from deep UK Schmidt telescope (UKST) narrow band Halpha and broad-band short-red "SR" continuum images and confirmed spectroscopically. These 6 preliminary discoveries provide a 6% increase to the previously known SMC PN population of ~100. Once spectroscopic follow-up of all our newly identified candidates is complete, we expect to increase the total number of known SMC PNe by up to 50%. This will permit a significant improvement to determination of the SMC PN luminosity function (PNLF) and enable furth…
The populations of bright planetary nebulae in the discs of spirals appear to differ in their spectral properties from those in ellipticals and the bulges of spirals. The bright planetary nebulae from the bulge of the Milky Way are entirely compatible with those observed in the discs of spiral galaxies. The similarity might be explained if the bulge of the Milky Way evolved secularly from the disc, in which case the bulge should be regarded as a pseudo-bulge.
This is the first in a series of papers that present sets of different results for 136 compact, known planetary nebulae within a 10 $\times$ 10 degree region of the Galactic bulge. We use a large, previously unpublished sample of our own extensive ESO 8 m VLT deep imaging and spectroscopic data. This is combined with archival deep $\textit{HST}$ imaging where available to provide a detailed morphological classification and study. The influence of angular resolution and sensitivity when assigning a morphology is discussed. A large fraction (68%) of the sample are shown to be bipolars and the im…
We present 21 new radio-continuum detections at catalogued planetary nebula (PN) positions in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) using all presently available data from the Australia Telescope Online Archive at 3, 6, 13 and 20 cm. Additionally, 11 previously detected LMC radio PNe are re-examined with $ 7 $ detections confirmed and reported here. An additional three PNe from our previous surveys are also studied. The last of the 11 previous detections is now classified as a compact \HII\ region which makes for a total sample of 31 radio PNe in the LMC. The radio-surface brightness to diameter ($…
We measure the Balmer decrements of 23 of the brightest planetary nebulae (PNe) in the inner bulge ($r \lesssim 3$ arcmin) of M31 and de-redden the bright end of the region's [O III] $λ5007$ planetary nebula luminosity function. We show that the most luminous PNe produce $\gtrsim 1{,}200 \, \rm{L}_{\odot}$ of power in their [O III] $λ5007$ line, implying central star luminosities of at least $\sim 11{,}000 \, \rm{L}_{\odot}$. Even with the most recent accelerated-evolution post-AGB models, such luminosities require central star masses in excess of $0.66 \, \rm{M}_{\odot}$, and main sequence pr…
I review the literature covering the issue of interstellar extinction toward the Milky Way bulge, with emphasis placed on findings from planetary nebulae, RR Lyrae, and red clump stars. I also report on observations from HI gas and globular clusters. I show that there has been substantial progress in this field in recent decades, most particularly from red clump stars. The spatial coverage of extinction maps has increased by a factor $\sim 100 \times$ in the past twenty years, and the total-to-selective extinction ratios reported have shifted by $\sim$20-25\%, indicative of the improved accura…
Iron suffers from high levels of depletion in the highly ionized environments of planetary nebulae, making the direct determination of undepleted elemental iron abundances difficult. Zinc, which does not suffer from the same depletion effects as iron, may be used as a surrogate element to measure iron abundances as there is an approximately constant zinc-to-iron ratio across a wide range of metallicities. In this paper, we report zinc abundances of six Galactic Bulge planetary nebulae determined from new observations taken with ISAAC on the Very Large Telescope, Chile, prior to the instrument'…
We present ten new radio continuum (RC) detections at catalogued planetary nebula (PN) positions in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC): SMPS6, LIN 41, LIN 142, SMP S13, SMP S14, SMP S16, J18, SMP S18, SMP S19 and SMP S22. Additionally, six SMC radio PNe previously detected, LIN 45, SMP S11, SMPS17, LIN321, LIN339 and SMPS24 are also investigated (re-observed) here making up a population of 16 radio detections of catalogued PNe in the SMC. These 16 radio detections represent ~15 % of the total catalogued PN population in the SMC. We show that six of these objects have characteristics that suggest…
We present near-infrared spectra of ten planetary nebulae (PNe) in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC and SMC), acquired with the FIRE and GNIRS spectrometers on the 6.5-m Baade and 8.1-m Gemini South Telescopes, respectively. We detect Se and/or Kr emission lines in eight of these objects, the first detections of n-capture elements in Magellanic Cloud PNe. Our abundance analysis shows large s-process enrichments of Kr (0.6-1.3 dex) in the six PNe in which it was detected, and Se is enriched by 0.5-0.9 dex in five objects. We also estimate upper limits to Rb and Cd abundances in these …
Planetary nebulae (PNe) constitute an important tool to study the chemical evolution of the Milky Way and other galaxies, probing the nucleosynthesis processes, abundance gradients and the chemical enrichment of the interstellar medium. In particular, Galactic bulge PNe (GBPNe) have been extensively used in the literature to study the chemical properties of this Galactic structure. However, the presently available GBPNe chemical composition studies are strongly biased, since they were focused on brighter objects, predominantly located in Galactic regions of low interstellar reddening. In this …
We used a new generation of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stellar models that include dust formation in the stellar winds to find the links between evolutionary models and the observed properties of a homogeneous sample of Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) planetary nebulae (PNe). Comparison between the evolutionary yields of elements such as CNO and the corresponding observed chemical abundances is a powerful tool to shed light on evolutionary processes such as hot bottom burning (HBB) and third dredge-up (TDU). We found that the occurrence of HBB is needed to interpret the nitrogen-enriched (log(…
Surveys of Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) have yielded a fairly complete catalog of 154 known stars. We have conducted a comprehensive, multiwavelength study of the interstellar/circumstellar environments of WR stars, using the Magellanic Cloud Emission Line Survey (MCELS) images in the H$α$, [O III], and [S II] lines; Spitzer Space Telescope 8 and 24 $μ$m images; Blanco 4m Telescope H$α$ CCD images; and Australian Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) + Parkes Telescope H I data cube of the LMC. We have also examined whether the WR stars are in OB associations, classified …
We present a collection of 991 heartbeat star (HBS) candidates found in the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) project data archive. We discuss the selection process of the HBS candidates and the structure of the catalog itself. It consists of 512 stars located toward the Galactic bulge (GB), 439 stars located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), and 40 in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). The collection contains two large groups of HBSs with different physical properties. The main distinction between the two groups is the evolutionary status of the primary star. The first group o…
Photoionized nebulae, comprising HII regions and planetary nebulae, are excellent laboratories to investigate the nucleosynthesis and chemical evolution of several elements in the Galaxy and other galaxies of the Local Group. Our purpose in this investigation is threefold: (i) compare the abundances of HII regions and planetary nebulae in each system in order to investigate the differences derived from the age and origin of these objects, (ii) compare the chemical evolution in different systems, such as the Milky Way, the Magellanic Clouds, and other galaxies of the Local Group, and (iii) inve…
The VISTA Magellanic Cloud (VMC) survey is assembling a deep, multi-epoch atlas of YJKs photometry across the Magellanic Clouds. Prior to the VMC survey only the brightest Magellanic Cloud PNe (MCPNe) were accessible at near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths. It is now possible for the first time to assemble the NIR properties of MCPNe and to identify contaminating non-PNe mimics which are best revealed at NIR wavelengths (e.g. HII regions and symbiotic stars). To maintain the unique scientific niche that MCPNe occupy these contaminants must be removed. Here we conduct a VMC-led, multi-wavelength stu…
We carried out new $^{12}$CO($J$ = 1-0, 3-2) observations of a N63A supernova remnant (SNR) from the LMC using ALMA and ASTE. We find three giant molecular clouds toward the northeast, east, and near the center of the SNR. Using the ALMA data, we spatially resolved clumpy molecular clouds embedded within the optical nebulae in both the shock-ionized and photoionized lobes discovered by previous H$α$ and [S II] observations. The total mass of the molecular clouds is $\sim$$800$ $M_{\odot}$ for the shock-ionized region and $\sim$$1700$ $M_{\odot}$ for the photoionized region. Spatially resolved …
The s-process at Subsolar Metallicity: Insights from High-Resolution Infrared Spectroscopy of Magellanic Cloud Planetary Nebulae
University of West Georgia（佐治亚西部大学）；Department of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin（德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校天文学系）；Los Alamos National Laboratory（洛斯阿拉莫斯国家实验室）；Konkoly Observatory, HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences（孔科利天文台，匈牙利研究网络地球与天文学研究中心）；ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Institute of Physics and Astronomy（罗兰大学物理与天文学研究所）；School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University（蒙纳士大学物理与天文学院）；Department of Physics, University of Naples Federico II（那不勒斯费德里科二世大学物理系）；INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico d’Abruzzo（意大利国家天体物理研究所阿布鲁佐天文台）
Nebular spectroscopy is a valuable tool for assessing the production of heavy elements by slow neutron(n)-capture nucleosynthesis (the s-process). Several transitions of n-capture elements have been identified in planetary nebulae (PNe) in the last few years, with the aid of sensitive high-resolution near-infrared spectrometers. Combined with optical spectroscopy, the newly discovered near-infrared lines enable more accurate abundance determinations than previously possible, and provide access to elements that had not previously been studied in PNe or their progenitors. Neutron-capture element…
Only four globular cluster planetary nebulae (GCPN) are known so far in the Milky Way. About 50 new globular clusters have been recently discovered towards the Galactic bulge. We present a search for planetary nebulae within 3 arcmin of the new globular clusters, revealing the identification of new candidate GCPN. These possible associations are PN SB 2 with the GC Minni 06, PN G354.9-02.8 with the GC Minni 11, PN G356.8-03.6 with the GC Minni 28, and PN Pe 2-11 with the GC Minni 31. We discard PN H 2-14 located well within the projected tidal radius of the new globular cluster FSR1758 because…
Planetary nebulae are the products of the evolution of low and intermediate mass stars. The chemical property studies of these objects give important information about the elemental abundances as He, O, Ne, Ar, S and their modifications associated with the evolution of the progenitor stars. The determination of accurate abundances in planetary nebulae is important from the perspective of the stellar evolution as well as the formation and chemical evolution of galaxies. Recently, new HeI emissivities and ionization correction factors (ICFs) were published in the literature. In this work, these …
We present spectroscopic observations of the C II $λ$6578 permitted line for 83 lines of sight in 76 planetary nebulae at high spectral resolution, most of them obtained with the Manchester Echelle Spectrograph on the 2.1\,m telescope at the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional on the Sierra San Pedro Mártir. We study the kinematics of the C II $λ$6578 permitted line with respect to other permitted and collisionally-excited lines. Statistically, we find that the kinematics of the C II $λ$6578 line are not those expected if this line arises from the recombination of C$^{2+}$ ions or the fluorescen…
We present the near-infrared observations of population II Cepheids in the Galactic bulge from VVV survey. We identify 340 population II Cepheids in the Galactic bulge from VVV survey based on their match with OGLE-III Catalogue. The single-epoch $JH$ and multi-epoch $K_s$ observations complement the accurate periods and optical $(VI)$ mean-magnitudes from OGLE. The sample consisting of BL Herculis and W Virginis subtypes is used to derive period-luminosity relations after correcting mean-magnitudes for the extinction. Our $K_s$-band period-luminosity relation, $K_s = -2.189(0.056)~[\log(P) - …
