We compile published spectroscopic data and [O III] magnitudes of almost 500 extragalactic planetary nebulae (PNe) in 13 galaxies of various masses and morphological types. This is the first paper of a series that aims to analyze the PN populations and their progenitors in these galaxies. Although the samples are not complete or homogeneous we obtain some first findings through the comparison of a few intensity line ratios and nebular parameters. We find that the ionized masses and the luminosities in H$β$, L$_{Hβ}$, of around 30 objects previously identified as PNe indicate that they are most likely compact HII regions. We find an anticorrelation between the electron densities and the ionized masses in M31, M33, and NGC 300 which suggests that most of the PNe observed in these galaxies are probably ionization bounded. This trend is absent in LMC and SMC suggesting that many of their PNe are density bounded. The He II/H$β$ values found in many PNe in LMC and some in M33 and SMC are higher than in the other galaxies. Photoionization models predict that these high values can only be reached in density bounded PNe. We also find that the brightest PNe in the sample are not necessarily the youngest since there is no correlation between electron densities and the H$β$ luminosities. The strong correlation found between L$_{Hβ}$-L$_{[O III]}$ implies that the so far not understood cut off of the planetary luminosity function (PNLF) based on [O III] magnitudes can be investigated using L$_{Hβ}$, a parameter much easier to study.
Extragalactic planetary nebulae -- tracers of kinematics and stellar populations out to 100 Mpc
University of Turku（图尔库大学）；European Southern Observatory（欧洲南方天文台）；Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik（马克斯·普朗克地外物理研究所）；University of Hertfordshire（赫特福德大学）；University of Oxford（牛津大学）；Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP)（波茨坦莱布尼茨天体物理研究所）；Universität Potsdam（波茨坦大学）；Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München（慕尼黑大学）
The study of the chemical composition of Planetary Nebulae in external galaxies is of paramount importance in the fields of stellar evolution and of the chemical enrichment history of galaxies. In the last years a number of spectroscopic studies with 6-8m-class telescopes have been devoted to this subject improving our knowledge of, among other, the time-evolution of the radial metallicity gradient in disk galaxies, the chemical evolution of dwarf galaxies, and the stellar evolution at low metallicity.
We present high resolution spectroscopy in the [\ion{O}{3}]$λ$5007 and H$α$ lines of bright planetary nebulae in the Milky Way bulge and the dwarf galaxies M32, Fornax, Sagittarius, and NGC 6822 obtained at the Observatorio Astronomico Nacional in the Sierra San Pedro Martir using the Manchester Echelle Spectrograph. We use the high signal-to-noise (S/N) observations of Milky Way bulge planetary nebulae to explore what kinematic information can be determined reliably when observing extragalactic planetary nebulae in the [\ion{O}{3}]$λ$5007 line at modest S/N. We find that the intrinsic line wi…
Extragalactic Planetary Nebulae (xPNe). Chemical evolution and assembly histories of nearby galaxies using Oxygen and Argon abundances. From the local universe to cosmic dawn
English and Spanish translations are provided for Fritz Zwicky's seminal article on "The Redshift of Extragalactic Nebulae", published in German in Helvetica Physica Acta in 1933 <https://www.e-periodica.ch/digbib/view?pid=hpa-001:1933:6#112>. This paper is usually cited as the first evidence for dark matter ("dunkle Materie", not "missing matter"). Zwicky's conclusion is based on the velocity dispersion of only seven galaxies in the Coma cluster of galaxies. Now, 84 years later, with 1000+ radial velocities measured for Coma cluster members, Coma's velocity dispersion is very close to that fo…
We present kinematic data for 211 bright planetary nebulae in eleven Local Group galaxies: M31 (137 PNe), M32 (13), M33 (33), Fornax (1), Sagittarius (3), NGC 147 (2), NGC 185 (5), NGC 205 (9), NGC 6822 (5), Leo A (1), and Sextans A (1). The data were acquired at the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional in the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir using the 2.1m telescope and the Manchester Echelle Spectrometer in the light of [\ion{O}{3}]$λ$5007 at a resolution of 11 km/s. A few objects were observed in H$α$. The internal kinematics of bright planetary nebulae do not depend strongly upon the metallicity or…
It has been well established in the local universe that galaxy properties differ based on the large-scale environment in which they reside. As luminous Lyman-alpha nebulae have been shown to trace overdense environments at z~2-3, comparing the properties of galaxies within Lyman-alpha nebulae systems to those in the field can provide insight into how and when locally-observed trends between galaxy properties and environment emerged. Six Lyman-alpha nebulae were discovered at z~2.3 in a blind search of the GOODS-S extragalactic field, a region also covered by the 3D-HST spectroscopic survey. Ut…
Since the first detection of intracluster planetary nebulae in 1996, imaging and spectroscopic surveys identified such stars to trace the radial extent and the kinematics of diffuse light in clusters. This topic of research is tightly linked with the studies of galaxy formation and evolution in dense environment, as the spatial distribution and kinematics of planetary nebulae in the outermost regions of galaxies and in the cluster cores is relevant for setting constraints on cosmological simulations. In this sense, extragalactic planetary nebulae play a very important role in the near-field co…
Extragalactic Planetary Nebulae (xPNe). Determining Distances out to 100 Mpc and the Renaissance of the PN Luminosity Function Method
ESO（欧洲南方天文台）；MPE（马克斯·普朗克地外物理研究所）；AIP（阿基米德研究所）；CAR, Univ. Hertfordshire（赫特福德大学计算与应用研究中心）；FINCA（图尔库天体物理学中心）；LMU（慕尼黑大学）；NSFʼs NOIRLab（美国国家科学基金会NOIR天文实验室）；Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University（宾夕法尼亚州立大学天文与天体物理系）
The brightest planetary nebulae achieve similar maximum luminosities, have similar ratios of chemcial abundances, and apparently share similar kinematics in all galaxies. These similarities, however, are not necessarily expected theoretically and appear to hide important evolutionary differences. As predicted theoretically, metallicity appears to affect nebular kinematics, if subtly, and there is a clear variation with evolutionary stage. To the extent that it can be investigated, the internal kinematics for galactic and extragalactic planetary nebulae are similar. The extragalactic planetary …
We present the compilation catalogue of redshift-independent distances included in the HyperLEDA database. It is actively maintained to be up-to-date, and the current version counts 6640 distance measurements for 2335 galaxies compiled from 430 published articles. Each individual series is recalibrated onto a common distance scale based on a carefully selected set of high-quality measurements. This information together with data on HI line-width, central velocity dispersion, magnitudes, diameters, and redshift is used to derive a homogeneous distance estimate and physical properties of galaxie…
High spectral resolution spectroscopy has proved to be very useful for the advancement of chemical abundances studies in photoionized nebulae, such as H II regions and planetary nebulae (PNe). Classical analyses make use of the intensity of bright collisionally excited lines (CELs), which have a strong dependence on the electron temperature and density. By using high resolution spectrophotometric data, our group has led the determination of chemical abundances of some heavy element ions, mainly O++, O+ and C++ from faint recombination lines (RLs), allowing us to deblend them from other nearby …
In this contribution, I will briefly review the development of the theory of photoionized gaseous nebulae, highlighting some of the key events. I will then present some recent developments of deep spectroscopy of planetary nebulae (PNe) and H II regions, concentrating on observations of faint heavy element optical recombination lines (ORLs). I will show that there is strong evidence that nebulae contain another previously unknown component of cold (about 1,000 K), high-metallicity plasma, probably in the form of H-deficient inclusions embedded in the warm (about 10,000 K) diffuse nebula of "no…
Extragalactic planetary nebulae (PNe) offer a way to determine the distance to their host galaxies thanks to the nearly universal shape of the planetary nebulae luminosity function (PNLF). Accurate PNe distance measurements rely on obtaining well-sampled PNLFs and the number of observed PNe scales with the encompassed stellar mass. This means either disposing of wide-field observations or focusing on the bright central regions of galaxies. In this work we take this second approach and conduct a census of the PNe population in the central regions of galaxies in the Fornax cluster, using VLT/MUS…
Number of known symbiotic stars (SySt) is still significantly lower than their predicted population. One of the main problems in finding complete population of SySt is the fact that their spectrum can be confused with other objects, such as planetary nebulae (PNe) or dense H II regions. The problem is reinforced by a fact that in significant fraction of established SySt the emission lines used to distinguish them from other objects are not present. We aim at finding new diagnostic diagrams that could help separate SySt from PNe. Additionally, we examine known sample of extragalactic PNe for ca…
By measuring precise radial velocities of planetary nebulae (which belong to the intermediate age population), H II regions, and A-type supergiant stars (which are members of the young population) in NGC 6822, we aim to determine if both types of population share the kinematics of the disk of H I found in this galaxy. Spectroscopic data for four planetary nebulae were obtained with the high spectral resolution spectrograph Magellan Inamori Kyocera Echelle (MIKE) on the Magellan telescope at Las Campanas Observatory. Data for other three PNe and one H II region were obtained from the SPM Catalo…
Extragalactic planetary nebulae (PNe) are detectable through relatively strong nebulous [OIII] emission and act as direct probes into the local stellar population. Because they have an apparently universal invariant magnitude cut-off, PNe are also considered to be a remarkable standard candle for distance estimation. Through detecting PNe within the galaxies, we aim to connect the relative abundances of PNe to the properties of their host galaxy stellar population. By removing the stellar background components from FCC 167 and FCC 219, we aim to produce PN luminosity functions (PNLF) of these …
We present the Tiered Radio Extragalactic Continuum Simulation (T-RECS): a new simulation of the radio sky in continuum, over the 150 MHz-20 GHz range. T-RECS models two main populations of radio galaxies: Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) and Star-Forming Galaxies (SFGs), and corresponding sub-populations. Our model also includes polarized emission over the full frequency range, which has been characterised statistically for each population using the available information. We model the clustering properties in terms of probability distributions of hosting halo masses, and use lightcones extracted…
We have been undertaking a systematic survey at 850 $μ$m based on a sample of four prototypical $z\sim2-3$ enormous Ly$α$ nebulae (ELANe) as well as their megaparsec-scale (Mpc-scale) environments to study the physical connections between ELANe and their coeval dusty submillimeter galaxies (SMGs). By analysing the SCUBA-2 data with self-consistent Monte Carlo simulations to construct the number counts, here, we report on the overabundance of 850 $μ$m-selected submillimeter sources around all the four ELANe, by a factor of 3.6$\pm$0.6 (weighted average) compared to the blank fields. This sugges…
Using the short-high module of the Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope, we have measured the [S IV] 10.51, [Ne II] 12.81, [Ne III] 15.56, and [S III] 18.71-micron emission lines in nine H II regions in the dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 6822. These lines arise from the dominant ionization states of the elements neon (Ne$^{++}$, Ne$^+$) and sulphur (S$^{3+}$, S$^{++}$), thereby allowing an analysis of the neon to sulphur abundance ratio as well as the ionic abundance ratios Ne$^+$/Ne$^{++}$ and S$^{3+}$/S$^{++}$. By extending our studies of H II regions in M83 and M33 to the lower …
The occurrence of planetary nebulae (PNe) in globular clusters (GCs) provides an excellent chance to study low-mass stellar evolution in a special (low-metallicity, high stellar density) environment. We report a systematic spectroscopic survey for the [O{\sc iii}] 5007 emission line of PNe in 1469 Virgo GCs and 121 Virgo ultra-compact dwarfs (UCDs), mainly hosted in the giant elliptical galaxies M87, M49, M86, and M84. We detected zero PNe in our UCD sample and discovered one PN ($M_{5007} = -4.1$ mag) associated with an M87 GC. We used the [O{\sc iii}] detection limit for each GC to estimate …
In this review we cover the detection, identification and astrophysical importance of planetary nebulae (PN). The legacy of the historic Perek & Kohoutek and Acker et al. catalogues is briefly covered before highlighting the more recent but significant progress in PN discoveries in our Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds. We place particular emphasis on the major MASH and the IPHAS catalogues, which, over the last decade alone, have essentially doubled Galactic and LMC PN numbers. We then discuss the increasing role and importance that multi-wavelength data is playing in both the detection of can…
Abundances of planetary nebulae and evolved stars: Iron and sulfur depletion, and carbon and nitrogen enrichment, in low- and intermediate-mass stellar populations in the Milky Way
Observational and theoretical studies of extragalactic radio sources have suggested that an inhomogeneous environment may be responsible for observed arm length asymmetries of jets and the properties of extended emission line regions in high redshift radio galaxies. We perform 3D hydrodynamic simulations of the interaction of a powerful extragalactic bipolar jet with a disc-shaped clumpy interstellar medium of log-normal density distribution and analyze the asymmetry. Furthermore, we compute the relation between jet asymmetry and the ISM properties by means of Monte Carlo simulations based on …
Extragalactic surveys in the emission line of [O III] 5007 have provided us with the absolute line strengths of large, homogeneous sets of planetary nebulae. These data have been used to address a host of problems, from the measurement of the extragalactic distance scale, to the study of stellar populations. I review our current understanding of the [O III] planetary nebula luminosity function (PNLF), and discuss some of the physical processes that effect its structure. I also describe the features of the H-alpha PNLF, a function that, upon first glance, looks similar to the [O III] PNLF, but …
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）
Distance uncertainties plague our understanding of the physical scales relevant to the physics of star formation in extragalactic studies. The planetary nebulae luminosity function (PNLF) is one of very few techniques that can provide distance estimates to within ~10%, however it requires a planetary nebula (PN) sample that is uncontaminated by other ionizing sources. We employ optical IFU spectroscopy using MUSE on the VLT to measure [OIII] line fluxes for sources unresolved on 50 pc scales within the central star-forming galaxy disk of NGC 628. We use diagnostic line ratios to identify 62 PN…
Planetary Nebulae (PN) emit enormous amount of energy in several emission lines. Measuring the line-flux for PNe in a given stellar population, the Planetary Nebula Luminosity Function (PNLF) can be compiled. Surveys of PNe revealed that the faint-end of the PNLF can be approximated by a simple exponential dependency expected for an expanding spherical shell. However at the bright-end there exists a steep cut-off which was unexpected and remains unexplained. Interestingly, the cut-off value appears to be nearly the same for different stellar populations as young spiral galaxies and old ellipti…
Context. Extragalactic Planetary Nebulae (PNe) are useful distance indicators and are often used to trace the dark-matter content in external galaxies. At the same time, PNe can also be used as probes of their host galaxy stellar populations and to help understanding the later stages of stellar evolution. Previous works have indicated that specific number of PNe per stellar luminosity can vary across different galaxies and as a function of stellar-population properties, for instance increasing with decreasing stellar metallicity. Aims. In this study we further explore the importance of stellar…
In this study, we present an update of a compilation of line width measurements of neutral atomic hydrogen (HI) galaxy spectra at 21 cm wavelength. Our All Digital HI (ADHI) catalog consists of the previous release augmented with our new HI observations and an analysis of archival data. This study provides the required HI information to measure the distances of spiral galaxies through the application of the Tully-Fisher (TF) relation. We conducted observations at the Green Bank telescope (GBT) and reprocessed spectra obtained at the Nancay radiotelescope by the Nancay Interstellar Baryons Lega…
