No Arabic abstract
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/MUSE data for the early-type galaxies observed over the course of the Fornax3D survey. Using such integral-field spectroscopic observations to carefully separate the nebular emission from the stellar continuum, we isolated [OIII] 5007 {AA} sources of interest, filtered out unresolved impostor sources or kinematic outliers, and present a catalogue of 1350 unique PNe sources across 21 early-type galaxies, which includes their positions, [OIII] 5007 {AA} line magnitudes, and line-of-sight velocities. Using the PNe catalogued within each galaxy, we present independently derived distance estimates based on the fit to the entire observed PNLF observed while carefully accounting for the PNe detection incompleteness. With these individual measurements, we arrive at an average distance to the Fornax cluster itself of 19.86 $pm$ 0.32 Mpc ($mu_{PNLF}$ = 31.49 $pm$ 0.04 mag). Our PNLF distance measurements agree well with previous distances based on surface brightness fluctuations, finding no significant systematic offsets between the two methods as otherwise reported in previous studies.
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 galaxies, and thereby also estimate the distance modulus to these two systems. Finally, we test the reliability and robustness of our novel detection and analysis method. It detects unresolved point sources by their [OIII] 5007{AA} emission within regions that have previously been unexplored. We model the [OIII] emissions in the spatial and spectral dimensions together, as afforded to us by the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE), and we draw on data gathered as part of the Fornax3D survey. For each source, we inspect the properties of the nebular emission lines to remove other sources that might hinder the safe construction of the PNLF, such as supernova remnants and HII regions. As a further step, we characterise any potential limitations and draw conclusions about the reliability of our modelling approach through a set of simulations. By applying this novel detection and modelling approach to integral field unit observations, we report for the distance estimates and luminosity-specific PNe frequency values for the two galaxies. Furthermore, we include an overview of source contamination, galaxy differences, and possible effects on the PNe populations in the dense stellar environments.
We combine data from ALMA and MUSE to study the resolved (~300 pc scale) star formation relation (star formation rate vs. molecular gas surface density) in cluster galaxies. Our sample consists of 9 Fornax cluster galaxies, including spirals, ellipticals, and dwarfs, covering a stellar mass range of ~10^8.8 - 10^11 M_Sun. CO(1-0) and extinction corrected Halpha were used as tracers for the molecular gas mass and star formation rate, respectively. We compare our results with Kennicutt (1998) and Bigiel et al. (2008). Furthermore, we create depletion time maps to reveal small-scale variations in individual galaxies. We explore these further in FCC290, using the uncertainty principle for star formation (Kruijssen & Longmore, 2014a) to estimate molecular cloud lifetimes, which we find to be short (<10 Myr) in this galaxy. Galaxy-averaged depletion times are compared with other parameters such as stellar mass and cluster-centric distance. We find that the star formation relation in the Fornax cluster is close to those from Kennicutt (1998) and Bigiel et al. (2008}), but overlaps mostly with the shortest depletion times predicted by Bigiel et al. (2008). This slight decrease in depletion time is mostly driven by dwarf galaxies with disturbed molecular gas reservoirs close to the virial radius. In FCC90, a dwarf galaxy with a molecular gas tail, we find that depletion times are a factor >~10 higher in its tail than in its stellar body.
We construct HI~absorption spectra for 18 planetary nebulae (PNe) and their background sources using the data from the International Galactic Plane Survey. We estimate the kinematic distances of these PNe, among which 15 objects kinematic distances are obtained for the first time. The distance uncertainties of 13 PNe range from 10% to 50%, which is a significant improvement with uncertainties of a factor two or three smaller than most of previous distance measurements. We confirm that PN G030.2-00.1 is not a PN because of its large distance found here.
Context. There are more than 3000 true and probable known Galactic Planetary Nebulae (PNe), but only for 13% of them there is central star spectroscopic information available. Aims. To contribute to the knowledge of central stars of planetary nebulae and star evolution. Methods. We undertook a spectroscopic survey of central stars of PNe in low resolution and compiled a large list of central stars for which information was dispersed in the literature. Results. We complete a catalogue of 492 true and probable CSPN and we provide a preliminary spectral classification for 45 central star of PNe, This made it possible to update the proportion of CSPN with atmosphere poor in hydrogen with regard to the whole in at least 30% and contribute with statistical information that allow to infer the origin of H-poor stars.
The San Pedro Martir kinematic catalogue of galactic planetary nebulae provides spatially resolved, long-slit Echelle spectra for about 600 planetary nebulae. The data are presented wavelength calibrated and corrected for heliocentric motion. For most objects multiple spectra have been acquired and images with accurate slit positions on the nebulae are also presented for each object. This is the most extensive and homogeneous single source of data concerning the internal kinematics of the ionized nebular material in planetary nebulae. Data can be retrieved for individual objects or selected by groups that share some common characteristics, such as by morphological classes, galactic population, binary cores, presence of fast outflows, etc. The catalogue is available through the world wide web at http://kincatpn.astrosen.unam.mx .