No Arabic abstract
High-resolution HST imaging of the compact planetary nebula NGC 6644 has revealed two pairs of bipolar lobes and a central ring lying close to the plane of the sky. From mid-infrared imaging obtained with the Gemini Telescope, we have found a dust torus which is oriented nearly perpendicular to one pair of the lobes. We suggest that NGC 6644 is a multipolar nebula and have constructed a 3-D model which allows the visualization of the object from different lines of sight. These results suggest that NGC 6644 may have similar intrinsic structures as other multipolar nebulae and the phenomenon of multipolar nebulosity may be more common than previously believed.
We present high-angular-resolution {it Hubble Space Telescope (HST)} optical and near-infrared imaging of the compact planetary nebula (PN) IRAS 21282+5050. Optical images of this object reveal several complex morphological structures including three pairs of bipolar lobes and an elliptical shell lying close to the plane of the sky. From near-infrared observations, we found a dust torus oriented nearly perpendicular to the major axis of elliptical shell. The results suggest that IRAS 21282+5050 is a multipolar PN, and these structures developed early during the post asymptotic-giant-branch (AGB) evolution. From a three-dimensional (3-D) model, we derived the physical dimensions of these apparent structures. When the 3-D model is viewed from different orientations, IRAS 21282+5050 shows similar apparent structures as other multipolar PNs. Analysis of the spectral energy distribution and optical spectroscopic observations of the nebula suggests the presence of a cool companion to the hot central star responsible for the ionization of the nebula. Whether the binary nature of the central star has any relations with the multipolar structure of the nebula needs to be further investigated.
This paper presents new near-infrared observations of the planetary nebula NGC 2346. The data include a broad K-band image, an image in the H2 vibrationally excited 1-0S(1) line and K band slit spectra at three positions in the nebula. In the H2 1-0S(1) line, the nebula is characterized by a central, bright torus, surrounded by weaker emission with a typical butterfly shape, as seen in Halpha and CO lines. The K band spectra show 11 H2 lines with excitation energies from 6150 to 12552 K. The H2 data have been compared to the predictions of models which follow the evolution with time of the H2 emission in PNe of different core mass and shell properties (Natta & Hollenbach 1998). These models compute the emission originating in the photodissociation region (PDR) created at the inner edge of the neutral shell by the UV radiation of the central core, as well as the emission in the shock associated to the expansion of the shell inside the precursor red-giant wind. In NGC 2346, a PDR origin of the H2 emission in a low-density molecular shell (n<~10^4 cm^-3) is indicated. At these low densities, time-dependent H2 chemistry and X-ray heating of the neutral gas enhance the predicted PDR H2 line intensity by large factors.
We present an extensive, long-slit, high-resolution coverage of the complex planetary nebula (PN), NGC 7026. We acquired ten spectra using the Manchester Echelle Spectrometer at San Pedro Martir Observatory in Baja California, Mexico, and each shows exquisite detail, revealing the intricate structure of this object. Incorporating these spectra into the 3-dimensional visualization and kinematic program, SHAPE, and using HST images of NGC 7026, we have produced a detailed structural and kinematic model of this PN. NGC 7026 exhibits remarkable symmetry consisting of three lobe-pairs and four sets of knots, all symmetrical about the nucleus and displaying a conical outflow. Comparing the 3-D structure of this nebula to recent, XMM-Newton X-ray observations, we investigate the extended X-ray emission in relation to the nebular structure. We find that the X-ray emission, while confined to the closed, northern lobes of this PN, shows an abrupt termination in the middle of the SE lobe, which our long slit data shows to be open. This is where the shocked, fast wind seems to be escaping the interior of the nebula and the X-ray emission rapidly cools in this region.
NGC 6302 is one of the highest ionization planetary nebulae known and shows emission from species with ionization potential >300eV. The temperature of the central star must be >200,000K to photoionize the nebula, and has been suggested to be up to ~ 400,000K. On account of the dense dust and molecular disc, the central star has not convincingly been directly imaged until now. NGC 6302 was imaged in six narrow band filters by Wide Field Camera 3 on HST as part of the Servicing Mission 4 Early Release Observations. The central star is directly detected for the first time, and is situated at the nebula centre on the foreground side of the tilted equatorial disc. The magnitudes of the central star have been reliably measured in two filters(F469N and F673N). Assuming a hot black body, the reddening has been measured from the (4688-6766AA) colour and a value of c=3.1, A_v=6.6 mag determined. A G-K main sequence binary companion can be excluded. The position of the star on the HR diagram suggests a fairly massive PN central star of about 0.64,M_sun close to the white dwarf cooling track. A fit to the evolutionary tracks for (T,L,t)=(200,000K, 2000L_sun, 2200yr), where t is the nebular age, is obtained; however the luminosity and temperature remain uncertain. The model tracks predict that the star is rapidly evolving, and fading at a rate of almost 1 % per year. Future observations could test this prediction.
We present deep, high-resolution (R~40000) UVES at VLT spectrophotometric data of the planetary nebula NGC 3918. This is one of the deepest spectra ever taken of a planetary nebula. We have identified and measured more than 700 emission lines and, in particular, we have detected very faint lines of several neutron-capture elements (s-process elements: Kr, Xe and Rb) that enable us to compute their chemical abundances with unprecedented accuracy, thus constraining the efficiency of the s-process and convective dredge-up.