The luminosity function for planetary nebulae and the number of planetary nebulae in local group galaxies

1980 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. H. Jacoby
1997 ◽  
Vol 180 ◽  
pp. 475-476
Author(s):  
M. G. Richer ◽  
G. Stasińska ◽  
M. L. McCall

We have obtained spectra of 28 planetary nebulae in the bulge of M31 using the MOS spectrograph at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. Typically, we observed the [O II] λ3727 to He I λ5876 wavelength region at a resolution of approximately 1.6 å/pixel. For 19 of the 21 planetary nebulae whose [OIII]λ5007 luminosities are within 1 mag of the peak of the planetary nebula luminosity function, our oxygen abundances are based upon a measured [OIII]λ4363 intensity, so they are based upon a measured electron temperature. The oxygen abundances cover a wide range, 7.85 dex < 12 + log(O/H) < 9.09 dex, but the mean abundance is surprisingly low, 12 + log(O/H)–8.64 ± 0.32 dex, i.e., roughly half the solar value (Anders & Grevesse 1989). The distribution of oxygen abundances is shown in Figure 1, where the ordinate indicates the number of planetary nebulae with abundances within ±0.1 dex of any point on the x-axis. The dashed line indicates the mean abundance, and the dotted lines indicate the ±1 σ points. The shape of this abundance distribution seems to indicate that the bulge of M31 does not contain a large population of bright, oxygen-rich planetary nebulae. This is a surprising result, for various population synthesis studies (e.g., Bica et al. 1990) have found a mean stellar metallicity approximately 0.2 dex above solar. This 0.5 dex discrepancy leads one to question whether the mean stellar metallicity is as high as the population synthesis results indicate or if such metal-rich stars produce bright planetary nebulae at all. This could be a clue concerning the mechanism responsible for the variation in the number of bright planetary nebulae observed per unit luminosity in different galaxies (e.g., Hui et al. 1993).


1983 ◽  
Vol 103 ◽  
pp. 443-460
Author(s):  
Holland C. Ford

Recent surveys for planetary nebulae have given the first identifications in Fornax, NGC 6822, M33, IC 10, Leo A, Sextans A, Pegasus, WLM, NGC 404, and M81, and extended the identifications in the SMC, the LMC, and M31. Observations of planetaries have established chemical compositions in old or intermediate age populations in 8 Local Group galaxies. The chemical compositions show that i) the helium abundance is higher in planetary nebulae than in H II regions in the same galaxy, and ii) nitrogen is overabundant relative to H II regions by factors of 4 to 100. Planetary nebulae are not a major source of helium in star-forming galaxies, and are a major source of nitrogen. The planetary in Fornax has a relatively high O abundance, and, together with Fornax's carbon stars, establishes the presence of at least 2 stellar populations. The abundance gradient derived from 3 planetaries in M31 is very shallow, and gives high abundances at ~ 20 kpc. By using planetary nebulae as standard candles, upper and lower distance limits have been set for 10 Local Group candidates, and a new distance estimated for M81.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (S323) ◽  
pp. 386-387
Author(s):  
Rebeca Galera-Rosillo ◽  
Romano L. M. Corradi ◽  
Bruce Balick ◽  
Karen Kwitter ◽  
Antonio Mampaso ◽  
...  

AbstractAs part of a systematic effort to characterize the properties and progenitors of the most luminous planetary nebulae (PNe), we obtained a sample among the brightest PNe in two stellar systems of different metallicities: LMC (Z/Z⊙~0.5) and M31 (Z/Z⊙~1) by means of a combined effort with the VLT and the 10mGTC. Modelling of these data will allow us to infer the masses of the stellar progenitors, gaining insights into the controversial origin of the universal cutoff of the Planetary Nebulae Luminosity Function (PNLF).


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (S344) ◽  
pp. 161-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise R. Gonçalves

AbstractThe Local Group contains a great number of dwarf irregulars and spheroidals, for which the spectroscopy of individual stars can be obtained. Thus, the chemical evolution of these galaxies can be traced, with the only need of finding populations spanning a large age range and such that we can accurately derive the composition. Planetary nebulae (PNe) are old- and intermediate-age star remnants and their chemical abundances can be obtained up to 3-4 Mpc. H ii regions, which are brighter and much easily detected, represent galaxies young content. PNe and H ii regions share similar spectroscopic features and are analysed in the same way. Both are among the best tracers of the chemical evolution allowing to draw the chemical time line of nearby galaxies. The focus in this review are the PN and H ii region populations as constraints to the chemical evolution models and the mass-metallicity relation of the local universe.


2003 ◽  
Vol 209 ◽  
pp. 625-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
George H. Jacoby ◽  
Orsola De Marco ◽  
Robin Ciardullo

Using the ESO 2.2m telescope with the 8K x 8K mosaic CCD, we surveyed 2.8 square degrees (~1.6° x 1.7°) of the SMC to search for faint planetary nebulae (PN). In this region, 34 PN were previously known; we identified 25 new objects. All of these are faint and have been spectroscopically confirmed. We estimate that there should be ~140 PN in the entire SMC to the limits of a survey like this one, which is complete to 6 mag down the planetary nebula luminosity function (PNLF). For a complete survey (8 mag down the PNLF), there should be ~220 PN. A strong new feature is evident in the PNLF as a deficiency at 4 mags below the brightest PN.The survey spectra that were used to confirm the candidates as PN show that the fainter PN exhibit a higher incidence (~28%) of strong [N II] emission (where I([N II]/I(Hα) > 1) relative to the bright Sanduleak et al. (1978) sample (~6%). We propose that the very faint SMC PN are selectively biased toward the chemically enriched Type I objects derived from younger, more massive progenitors.


1973 ◽  
Vol 183 ◽  
pp. L73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holland C. Ford ◽  
David C. Jenner ◽  
Harland W. Epps

2019 ◽  
Vol 629 ◽  
pp. A18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Müller ◽  
Marina Rejkuba ◽  
Marcel S. Pawlowski ◽  
Rodrigo Ibata ◽  
Federico Lelli ◽  
...  

Dwarf galaxy satellite systems are essential probes to test models of structure formation, making it necessary to establish a census of dwarf galaxies outside of our own Local Group. We present deep FORS2 VI band images from the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) for 15 dwarf galaxy candidates in the Centaurus group of galaxies. We confirm nine dwarfs to be members of Cen A by measuring their distances using a Bayesian approach to determine the tip of the red giant branch luminosity. We have also fit theoretical isochrones to measure their mean metallicities. The properties of the new dwarfs are similar to those in the Local Group in terms of their sizes, luminosities, and mean metallicities. Within our photometric precision, there is no evidence of a metallicity spread, but we do observe possible extended star formation in several galaxies, as evidenced by a population of asymptotic giant branch stars brighter than the red giant branch tip. The new dwarfs do not show any signs of tidal disruption. Together with the recently reported dwarf galaxies by the complementary PISCeS survey, we study the luminosity function and 3D structure of the group. By comparing the observed luminosity function to the high-resolution cosmological simulation IllustrisTNG, we find agreement within a 90% confidence interval. However, Cen A seems to be missing its brightest satellites and has an overabundance of the faintest dwarfs in comparison to its simulated analogs. In terms of the overall 3D distribution of the observed satellites, we find that the whole structure is flattened along the line-of-sight, with a root-mean-square (rms) height of 130 kpc and an rms semi-major axis length of 330 kpc. Future distance measurements of the remaining dwarf galaxy candidates are needed to complete the census of dwarf galaxies in the Centaurus group.


2019 ◽  
Vol 487 (4) ◽  
pp. 5813-5813 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sumit K Sarbadhicary ◽  
Carles Badenes ◽  
Laura Chomiuk ◽  
Damiano Caprioli ◽  
Daniel Huizenga

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