No Arabic abstract
We study the hypothesis of high metallicity clumps being responsible for the abundance discrepancy found in planetary nebulae between the values obtained from recombination and collisionaly excited lines. We generate grids of photoionization models combining cold metal-rich clumps emitting the heavy element recombination lines, embedded in a normal metallicity region responsible for the forbidden lines. The two running parameters of the grid are the metallicity of the clumps and its volume fraction relative to the whole nebula. We determine the density and temperatures (from the Balmer jump and the [OIII] 5007/4363 A line ratio), and the ionic abundances from the collisional and recombination lines, as an observer would do. The metallicity of the near-to-solar region is recovered, while the metallicity of the clumps is systematically underestimated, by up to 2 orders of magnitude. This is mainly because most of the H$beta$ emission is coming from the normal region, and only the small contribution emitted by the metal-rich clumps should be used. We find that a given ADF(O$^{++}$) can be reproduced by a small amount of rich clumps, or a bigger amount of less rich clumps. Finally, comparing with the observations of NGC 6153 we find 2 models that reproduce its ADF(O$^{++}$) and the observed electron temperatures. We determine the fraction of oxygen embedded in the metal-rich region (with a fraction of volume less than 1%) to be roughly between 25% and 60% of the total amount of oxygen in the nebula (a few 10$^{-3} M_odot$).
The understanding of astronomical nebulae is based on observational data (images, spectra, 3D data-cubes) and theoretical models. In this review, I present my very biased view on photoionization modeling of planetary nebulae, focusing on 1D multi-component models, on 3D models and on big database of models.
We study the relation between the chemical composition and the type of dust present in a group of 20 Galactic planetary nebulae (PNe) that have high quality optical and infrared spectra. The optical spectra are used, together with the best available ionization correction factors, to calculate the abundances of Ar, C, Cl, He, N, Ne, and O relative to H. The infrared spectra are used to classify the PNe in two groups depending on whether the observed dust features are representative of oxygen-rich or carbon-rich environments. The sample contains one object from the halo, eight from the bulge, and eleven from the local disc. We compare their chemical abundances with nucleosynthesis model predictions and with the ones obtained in seven Galactic H II regions of the solar neighbourhood. We find evidence of O enrichment (by $sim$ 0.3 dex) in all but one of the PNe with carbon-rich dust (CRD). Our analysis shows that Ar, and especially Cl, are the best metallicity indicators of the progenitors of PNe. There is a tight correlation between the abundances of Ar and Cl in all the objects, in agreement with a lockstep evolution of both elements. The range of metallicities implied by the Cl abundances covers one order of magnitude and we find significant differences in the initial masses and metallicities of the PNe with CRD and oxygen-rich dust (ORD). The PNe with CRD tend to have intermediate masses and low metallicities, whereas most of the PNe with ORD show higher enrichments in N and He, suggesting that they had high-mass progenitors.
Evolved stars are primary sources for the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and dust grains. Their circumstellar chemistry is usually designated as either oxygen-rich or carbon-rich, although dual-dust chemistry objects, whose infrared spectra reveal both silicate- and carbon-dust features, are also known. The exact origin and nature of this dual-dust chemistry is not yet understood. Spitzer-IRS mid-infrared spectroscopic imaging of the nearby, oxygen-rich planetary nebula NGC6720 reveals the presence of the 11.3 micron aromatic (PAH) emission band. It is attributed to emission from neutral PAHs, since no band is observed in the 7 to 8 micron range. The spatial distribution of PAHs is found to closely follow that of the warm clumpy molecular hydrogen emission. Emission from both neutral PAHs and warm H2 is likely to arise from photo-dissociation regions associated with dense knots that are located within the main ring. The presence of PAHs together with the previously derived high abundance of free carbon (relative to CO) suggest that the local conditions in an oxygen-rich environment can also become conducive to in-situ formation of large carbonaceous molecules, such as PAHs, via a bottom-up chemical pathway. In this scenario, the same stellar source can enrich the interstellar medium with both oxygen-rich dust and large carbonaceous molecules.
It is well known since 2010 that fullerene C60 is widespread through the interstellar space. Also, it is well known that graphene is a source material for synthesizing fullerene. Here, we simply assume the occurrence of graphene in space. Infrared spectra of graphene molecules are calculated to compare both to astronomical observational spectra and to laboratory experimental one. Model molecules for DFT calculation are selected by one astronomical assumption, that is, single void in charge neutral graphene of C13, C24 and C54, resulting C12, C23 and C53. They have a carbon pentagon ring within a hexagon network. Different void positions are classified as different species. Single void is surrounded by 3 radical carbons, holding 6 spins. Spin state affects molecular configuration and vibrational spectrum. It was a surprise that the triplet state is stable than the singlet. Most of charge neutral and triplet spin state species show closely resembling spectra with observed one of carbon rich planetary nebulae Tc1 and Lin49. We could assign major bands at 18.9 micrometer, and sub-bands at 6.6, 7.0, 7.6, 8.1, 8.5, 9.0 and 17.4 micrometer. It is interesting that those graphene species were also assigned in the laboratory experiments on laser-induced carbon plasma, which are analogies of carbon cluster creation in space. The conclusion is that graphene molecules could potentially contribute to the infrared emission bands of carbon-rich planetary nebulae.
We constrain the iron abundance in a sample of 33 low-ionization Galactic planetary nebulae (PNe) using [Fe III] lines and correcting for the contribution of higher ionization states with ionization correction factors (ICFs) that take into account uncertainties in the atomic data. We find very low iron abundances in all the objects, suggesting that more than 90% of their iron atoms are condensed onto dust grains. This number is based on the solar iron abundance and implies a lower limit on the dust-to-gas mass ratio, due solely to iron, of M_dust/M_gas>1.3x10^{-3} for our sample. The depletion factors of different PNe cover about two orders of magnitude, probably reflecting differences in the formation, growth, or destruction of their dust grains. However, we do not find any systematic difference between the gaseous iron abundances calculated for C-rich and O-rich PNe, suggesting similar iron depletion efficiencies in both environments. The iron abundances of our sample PNe are similar to those derived following the same procedure for a group of 10 Galactic H II regions. These high depletion factors argue for high depletion efficiencies of refractory elements onto dust grains both in molecular clouds and AGB stars, and low dust destruction efficiencies both in interstellar and circumstellar ionized gas.