We observed 64 newly identified galactic bulge planetary nebulae in the radio continuum at 3 and 6 cm with the Australia Telescope Compact Array. We present their radio images, positions, flux densities, and angular sizes. The survey appears to have detected a larger ratio of more extended planetary nebulae with low surface brightness than in previous surveys. We calculated their distances according to Van de Steene & Zijlstra (1995). We find that most of the new sample is located on the near side around the galactic center and closer in than the previously known bulge PNe. Based on H-alpha images and spectroscopic data, we calculated the total H-alpha flux. We compare this flux value with the radio flux density and derive the extinction. We confirm that the distribution of the extinction values around the galactic center rises toward the center, as expected.

January 2016 – title page.%%%%The Academic Senate of Macquarie University granted this degree in 2015, but the date 2016 appears on the title page, the verso of the title page and the spine.%%%%%%%%%%%%1. Planetary nebulas - history and overview – 2. The planetary nebula luminosity function – 3. New bulge PNs – 4. Duplicate objects – 5. Other observations – 6. New bulge PNLF – 7. Results and discussion – A. Spectral features – B. Galactic bulge mosaic II survey fields – C. Galactic bulge PNs – D. Publications – References.%%%%A new population of Galactic bulge planetary nebulas is presented. Nebula candidates were discovered by systematically reviewing archival [OIII] on/off band survey imaging of the central -5⁰ ≤ l ≤ 5⁰, -5⁰ ≤ b ≤ 5⁰ region around the Galactic centre. An image segmentation and interleaving scheme was developed to facilitate this review. The resultant candidates (> 200) were then double checked against complementary archival Hα sky survey data to screen for obvious planetary nebula (PN) mimics or spurious image artefacts.%%%%Confirmatory spectroscopy of the PN candidates was pursued with thin slit, fibre multiobject and wide field spectrographs. Custom software was built to streamline interfacing with third-party spectroscopic management tools and a parallel greedy set cover algorithm implemented for efficient field selection in constrained multi-object observations.%%%%The combined imaging and spectroscopic evidence yielded true (4), probable (31) and possible (83) PNs toward the bulge. Secondary discoveries such as new PN mimics and late type stars were by-products of the confirmatory spectroscopy. Instances of literature PN duplication encountered during the investigation were noticed and documented.%%%%Spectral analysis of new PNs, including those obtained with a new optimised sky subtraction technique devised and demonstrated here, provided diagnostic data allowing radial velocity and Balmer decrement determination. Using a combined diameter and radial velocity criterion, bona fide bulge PNs were distinguished from new foreground PNs. Where Balmer decrements were available for new bulge PNs, differential aperture photometry was used to provide a modest data increment to Galactic bulge planetary nebula luminosity function (PNLF).%%%%The PNLF was revised with data from some new bulge PNs, but more significantly, by a series of corrections to the data derived from previously known bulge PNs (~225), such as improved filter transmission effects, statistically justified binning and application of a uniform bulge-relevant extinction law. The result was the most rigorous bulge PNLF to date. An improvement on the legacy PNLF, the revised PNLF exhibited a form inconsistent with typical extragalactic examples, an expected result of the unusual extinction correction method used to address bulge-specific observational limitations. Issues restricting the accuracy of the bulge PNLF were identified. Until those restrictions are ameliorated, the utility of the PNLF in aiding physical understanding…

We present abundance determinations, in particular of carbon, and C/O ratios, for 11 Galactic bulge planetary nebulae (PN) based on our low resolution UV data from IUE observations and optical spectrophotometry from the Anglo-Australian Telescope. We compare the observed abundances with those predicted by dredge-up theory for the high metallicity Galactic bulge. The sample abundances are also contrasted with the abundances found for PN in the Galactic disk. The mean C/O ratio for the bulge PN is significantly lower than that found for Galactic disk PN. Further, we present an abundance analysis of the very metal-poor bulge PN M2-29. From an analysis of the differential extinction found from the observed ratios of the He II 1640,4686A lines, we find that the ultraviolet reddening law towards the bulge is steeper than in the solar neighbourhood.

During the late stages of their evolution, Sun-like stars bring the products of nuclear burning to the surface. Although there is a chemical dichotomy between oxygen-rich and carbon-rich evolved stars, the dredge-up itself has never been directly observed. In the last three decades, however, a few stars have been shown to display both carbon- and oxygen-rich material in their circumstellar envelopes. These phenomena is seen in both Galactic Disk and Bulge planetary nebulae. For the Galactic Disk objects the mixed chemistry phenomenon is best explained through a recent dredge-up of carbon produced by nucleosynthesis inside the star during the Asymptotic Giant Branch that changed the surface chemistry of the star. On the contrary, we conclude that the mixed chemistry phenomenon occurring in the Galactic Bulge planetary nebulae is best explained through hydrocarbon chemistry in an ultraviolet (UV)-irradiated, dense torus.

We present deep, high-resolution optical spectra of two Galactic bulge planetary nebulae (PN), M 1-42 and M 2-36. The spectra show very prominent and rich optical recombination lines (ORLs) from C, N, O and Ne ions. Infrared spectra from were also obtained using the Short and Long Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS and LWS) on board ISO. The optical and infrared spectra, together with archival IUE spectra, are used to study their density and thermal characteristics and to determine elemental abundances. We determine the optical and UV extinction curve towards these two bulge PN using observed H i and He ii recombination line fluxes and the radio free–free continuum flux density. In the optical, the reddening curve is found to be consistent with the standard Galactic extinction law, with a total to selective extinction ratio . However, the extinction in the UV is found to be much steeper, consistent with the earlier finding of Walton, Barlow & Clegg. The rich ORL spectra from C, N, O and Ne ions detected from the two nebulae have been used to determine the abundances of these elements relative to hydrogen. In all cases, the resultant ORL abundances are found to be significantly higher than the corresponding values deduced from collisionally excited lines (CELs). In M 2-36, the discrepancies are about a factor of 5 for all four elements studied. In M 1-42, the discrepancies reach a factor of about 20, the largest ever observed in a PN. M 1-42 also has the lowest Balmer jump temperature ever determined for a PN, , 5660 K lower than its [O iii] forbidden line temperature. We compare the observed intensities of the strongest O ii ORLs from different electronic configurations, including λ4649 from , λ4072 from , λ4089 from , and λ4590 and λ4190 from the doubly excited and configurations, respectively. In all cases, in spite of the fact that the ratios of the ORL to CEL ionic abundances span a wide range from ∼, the intensity ratios of λ4649, λ4072, λ4590 and λ4190 relative to λ4089 are found to be nearly constant, apart from some small monotonic increase of these ratios as a function of electron temperature. Over a range of Balmer jump temperature from , the variations amount to about 20 per cent for the and transitions and a factor of 2 for the primed transitions, and are consistent with the predictions of the current recombination theory. Our results do not support the claim by Dinerstein, Lafon & Garnett that the relative intensities of O ii ORLs vary from nebula to nebula and that the scatter is largest in objects where the discrepancies between ORL and CEL abundances are also the largest. We find that the ORL to CEL abundance ratio is highly correlated with the difference between the temperatures yielded by the [O iii] forbidden line ratio and by the H i Balmer jump, providing the strongest evidence so far that the two phenomena, i.e. the disparity between ORL and CEL temperature and abundance determinations, are closely related. However, temperature fluctuations of the type envisaged by Peimbert are unable to explain the low ionic abundances yielded by IR fine-structure lines. The very low Balmer jump temperature of M 1-42, coupled with its very low Balmer decrement density, may also be difficult to explain with a chemically inhomogeneous composite model of the type proposed by Liu et al. for NGC 6153.

We investigate the dual-dust chemistry (DDC) phenomenon in PNe and discuss reasons for its occurrence, by analyzing Spitzer/IRS spectra of a sample of 40 Galactic PNe among which 26 belong to the Galactic Bulge (GB). The mixed chemistry is derived from the simultaneous detection of PAH features in the 6-14 micron range and crystalline silicates (CS) beyond 20 microns in the Spitzer/IRS spectra. Out of the 26 PNe observed in the GB, 21 show signatures of DDC. Our observations reveal that the simultaneous presence of O- and C-rich dust features in the IR spectra of [WC]-type PNe is not restricted to late/cool [WC]-type stars, as previously suggested in the literature, but is a common feature associated with all [WC]-type PNe. Surprisingly, we found that the DDC is seen also in all observed wels, as well as in other PNe with central stars being neither [WC] nor wels. Most sources observed display CS features in their spectra, with only a few PNe exhibiting, in addition, amorphous silicate bands. We appear to detect a recent change of chemistry at the end of the AGB evolution in the low-mass, high-metallicity population of GB PNe observed. The deficit of C-rich AGB stars in this environment suggests that the process of PAH formation in PNe occurs at the very end of the AGB phase. In addition, the population of low-mass, O-rich AGB stars in the GB, do not exhibit CS features in their spectra. Thus, the high detection rate of DDC that we find cannot be explained by long-lived O-rich (primordial or circumbinary) disks. Our most plausible scenario is a final thermal pulse on the AGB (or just after), which could produce enhanced mass loss, capable of removing/mixing (sometimes completely) the remaining H-rich envelope and exposing the internal C-rich layers, and generating shocks responsible for the silicate crystallization.

view Abstract Citations (197) References (40) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS A Statistical Distance Scale for Galactic Planetary Nebulae Zhang, C. Y. Abstract A statistical distance scale is proposed. It is based on the correlation between the ionized mass and the radius and the correlation between the radio continuum surface brightness temperature and the nebular radius. The proposed statistical distance scale is an average of the two distances obtained while using the correlation. These correlations, calibrated based on the 1`32 planetary nebulae with well-determined individual distances by Zhang, can reproduce not only the average distance of a sample of Galactic Bulge planetary nebulae exactly at the distance to the Galactic center, but also the expected Gaussian distribution of their distances around the Galactic center. This new distance scale is applied to 647 Galactic planetary nebulae. It is estimated that this distance scale can be accurate on average to 35%-50%. Our statistical distance scale is in good agreement with the one recently proposed by Van de Steene and Zijlstra. The correlations found in this study can be attributed to the fact that the core mass of the central stars has a very sharp distribution, strongly peaked at approx. 0.6 solar mass. We stress that the scatter seen in the statistical distance scale is likely to be real. The scatter is caused by the fact that the core mass distribution, although narrow and strongly peaked, has a finite width. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series Pub Date: June 1995 DOI: 10.1086/192173 Bibcode: 1995ApJS...98..659Z Keywords: Brightness; Brightness Distribution; Distance; Ionized Gases; Planetary Nebulae; Scale (Ratio); Statistical Correlation; Statistical Distributions; Galactic Bulge; Galactic Nuclei; Galactic Structure; Astrophysics; COSMOLOGY: DISTANCE SCALE; ISM: PLANETARY NEBULAE: GENERAL full text sources ADS | data products SIMBAD (644) CDS (2) Related Materials (1) Catalog: 1996yCat..20980659Z

We have constructed photoionization models of five galactic bulge planetary nebulae using our automatic method, which enables a fully self-consistent determination of the physical parameters of a planetary nebula. The models are constrained using the spectrum, the IRAS and radio fluxes and the angular diameter of the nebula. We also conducted a literature search for physical parameters determined with classical methods for these nebulae. Comparison of the distance-independent physical parameters with published data shows that the stellar temperatures generally are in good agreement and can be considered reliable. The literature data for the electron temperature, electron density and also for the abundances show a large spread, indicating that the use of line diagnostics is not reliable and that the accuracy of these methods needs to be improved. Comparison of the various abundance determinations indicates that the uncertainty in the electron temperature is the main source of uncertainty in the abundance determination. The stellar magnitudes predicted by the photoionization models are in good agreement with observed values.

We confirm the planetary nebula nature of two sources: PN G000.2+06.1 and PN G002.3+02.2, previously identified by Terzan in a photometric survey toward the Galactic center as objects possibly belonging to this class. Optical images taken in Hα reveal the extended morphology of the nebulae, while spectroscopic observations allow us to determine their line intensities and physical parameters (electron density and temperature), as well as their ionic and elemental abundances. Their low surface brightness and large apparent size, together with the lack of infrared emission, suggest their identification as well-evolved planetary nebulae belonging to the old stellar population of the bulge. However, both planetary nebulae show high N/O ratios and He abundances, similar to those observed in type I disk planetary nebulae, usually associated with young, massive progenitor stars. The implications of our findings in the context of the study of chemical abundances in Galactic bulge planetary nebulae are discussed.

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 work, we report physical parameters and abundances derived for a sample of 17 high extinction PNe located in the inner 2\degr of the Galactic bulge, based on low dispersion spectroscopy secured at the SOAR telescope using the Goodman spectrograph. The new data allow us to extend our database including faint objects, providing chemical compositions for PNe located in this region of the bulge and an estimation for the masses of their progenitors to explore the chemical enrichment history of the central region of the Galactic bulge. The results show that there is an enhancement in the N/O abundance ratio in the Galactic centre PNe compared with PNe located in the outer regions of the Galactic bulge. This may indicate recent episodes of star formation occurring near the Galactic centre.

Dimensionless Analysis of Photocatalytic Reactors Using Suspended Solid Photocatalysts

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's decommissioning as well as a further three based upon literature observations. UVES data of the sample planetary nebulae are presented and have been used to derive abundances, temperatures and densities of a variety of elements and ions. The abundances derived from the UVES data agree well with results from the literature. [Zn/H], determined from the ISAAC observations, is found to be generally sub-solar and [O/Zn] is found to be either consistent or enriched with respect to Solar.

(abridged) Deep long-slit optical spectrophotometric observations are presented for 25 Galactic bulge planetary nebulae (GBPNe) and 6 Galactic disk planetary nebulae (GDPNe). The spectra, combined with archival ultraviolet spectra obtained with the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) and infrared spectra obtained with the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), have been used to carry out a detailed plasma diagnostic and element abundance analysis utilizing both collisional excited lines (CELs) and optical recombination lines (ORLs). Comparisons of plasma diagnostic and abundance analysis results obtained from CELs and from ORLs reproduce many of the patterns previously found for GDPNe. In particular we show that the large discrepancies between electron temperatures (Te's) derived from CELs and from ORLs appear to be mainly caused by abnormally low values yielded by recombination lines and/or continua. Similarly, the large discrepancies between heavy element abundances deduced from ORLs and from CELs are largely caused by abnormally high values obtained from ORLs, up to tens of solar in extreme cases. It appears that whatever mechanisms are causing the ubiquitous dichotomy between CELs and ORLs, their main effects are to enhance the emission of ORLs, but hardly affect that of CELs. It seems that heavy element abundances deduced from ORLs may not reflect the bulk composition of the nebula. Rather, our analysis suggests that ORLs of heavy element ions mainly originate from a previously unseen component of plasma of Te's of just a few hundred Kelvin, which is too cool to excite any optical and UV CELs.

view Abstract Citations (31) References (46) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS The Distances of Planetary Nebulae and the Galactic Bulge Schneider, Stephen E. ; Buckley, David Abstract We describe an improved method for determining the distances of planetary nebulae (PNs) based on a theoretical/empirical relationship between their radii and radio surface brightness. Like the Shklovsky (constant mass) distance method, our relationship requires only radio flux density and angular size measurements, which are widely available in the literature. Based on models matching the overall Galactic distribution of PNs, we determine how PNs observed in the direction of the Galactic center are actually distributed relative to the bulge in order to establish the usefulness of these PNs for distance studies. We then use the bulge PNs along with PNs with independent distances to establish, calibrate, and test the accuracy of the method. When compared to the best available data our distance method appears to yield distance errors consistent with a scatter of 25% (1 (j). And, based on our models scaled to local PNs, we find a mean Galactic center distance of 8.3 + 2.6 kpc for the bulge PNs. The relationship that PNs exhibit between radius and surface brightness is in excellent agreement with our simulated nebulae from Paper I (Buckley & Schneider 1995). We find that no simple power law can describe the changing mass and radius of a PN as it ages; however, our empirical relationship has a limiting behavior that is almost indistinguishable from the assumption made in Shklovsky's distance method that PNs have a constant ionized mass. We reexamine the dispute about the validity of the Shklovsky's distance method as applied to Galactic center PNs in light of these results, and we argue that the Shklovsky method does predict the distances of large, low surface brightness PNs well, but it increasingly overestimates the distance of smaller PNs. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: March 1996 DOI: 10.1086/176925 Bibcode: 1996ApJ...459..606S Keywords: STARS: CIRCUMSTELLAR MATTER; GALAXY: CENTER; ISM: PLANETARY NEBULAE: GENERAL; RADIO CONTINUUM: ISM full text sources ADS | data products SIMBAD (196) CDS (1)

We present a study on the filling factors and ionized masses of four sets of galactic and extra–galactic planetary nebulae (PNe) at known distances. The calculation of filling factors and ionized masses has been pursued as to get a deeper insight on the evolution of this class of objects. We used a galactic set of PNe, another set of nebulae that are averagely located near the galactic center, and two sets of nebulae in the Magellanic Clouds. As input data, we used the electron densities derived from the forbidden line intensity ratios, the Hβ nebular fluxes, the distances of galactic PNe derived from extinction, and the distances of galactic center PNe and of extra–galactic PNe derived from galaxy (or galactic region) memberships. All these quantities, plus the input angular radii, have been selected among the most recent measurements available in the literature. We obtained several interesting results. (1) The calculated filling factors are on average much smaller than what is usually assumed, independently for each set. (2) The ionized masses are all in good agreement with the theoretical predictions, with the possible exception of the Galactic Bulge PNe. (3) Both filling factors and ionized masses cover a wide range of values as it is shown in the cumulative histograms below (filled circles=local PNe; open circles=galactic center PNe; filled squares=LMC PNe; open squares=SMC PNe).