Abstract
Planetary Nebulae (PNe) that are physical members of Galactic open clusters are powerful probes that allow precise determination of their distance and crucially their initial mass on the main sequence. Here, we revisit the physical association of the PN BMP J1613–5406 with the open cluster NGC 6067 and present our preliminary results based on our new ESO/VLT FORS2 data. Our PN spectral data permit the calculation of a precise radial velocity and reddening to the PN that shows a tight consistency with the literature corresponding cluster parameters including importantly the radial velocity. Our measurements, combined with the agreement between the distances of the two objects and the fact that the PN is located well within the cluster boundaries, confirm that the PN is physically associated with the cluster. The cluster has a turn-off mass of around 5 solar masses that indicates a PN initial mass of around 5.6 solar masses. This is closer to the theoretical lower limit of core-collapse supernova formation than has ever been previously observed, providing a unique opportunity for further stellar and Galactic chemical evolution studies using this system.
Highlights
Planetary Nebulae (PNe) that are physically associated with Galactic star clusters have the significant advantage that some of their properties can be independently determined from studies of their host clusters
Our examination of literature data shows that NGC 6067 has a supersolar metallicity of [Fe/H] = 0.19 ± 0.05, an age of 90 ± 20 Ma, a reddening of E (B − V) = 0.35 ± 0.03, a tidal radius of 12.3 arcminutes, a distance of 1.88 ± 0.10 kpc and an heliocentric corrected radial velocity of −39.79 ± 0.57 km/s
Our Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) HRS spectral data show that BMP J1613-5406 has a mean radial velocity of −39.93 ± 1.44 km/s, in excellent agreement to that of the cluster
Summary
Planetary Nebulae (PNe) that are physically associated with Galactic star clusters have the significant advantage that some of their properties can be independently determined from studies of their host clusters Such properties include their distances and ages that crucially allow estimation of their initial and final masses. The Gaia EDR3 [1] extends the sample of PNe whose accurate distances are known for those that have central stars (CSPN) brighter than the Gaia photometric limits, PNe progenitor masses can only be straightforwardly determined for PNe that are located in clusters The numbers of such proven PNe-cluster associations are small and as such these rare cases serve as unique opportunities for in-depth PNe studies. We have found another PN that is likely a member of the open cluster M37 [9], Parker et al (in preparation), but further studies are needed to confirm association due to the lack of a precise PN radial velocity, a very tight cluster membership constraint given open cluster velocity dispersions are very small (typically ∼1 km/s)
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