ABSTRACT
We perform a comprehensive analysis of the planetary nebula (PN) NGC 6781 to investigate the physical conditions of each of its ionized, atomic, and molecular gas and dust components and the object's evolution, based on panchromatic observational data ranging from UV to radio. Empirical nebular elemental abundances, compared with theoretical predictions via nucleosynthesis models of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, indicate that the progenitor is a solar-metallicity, 2.25-3.0 Mâ initial-mass star. We derive the best-fit distance of 0.46 kpc by fitting the stellar luminosity (as a function of the distance and effective temperature of the central star) with the adopted post-AGB evolutionary tracks. Our excitation energy diagram analysis indicates high-excitation temperatures in the photodissociation region (PDR) beyond the ionized part of the nebula, suggesting extra heating by shock interactions between the slow AGB wind and the fast PN wind. Through iterative fitting using the Cloudy code with empirically derived constraints, we find the best-fit dusty photoionization model of the object that would inclusively reproduce all of the adopted panchromatic observational data. The estimated total gas mass (0.41 Mâ) corresponds to the mass ejected during the last AGB thermal pulse event predicted for a 2.5 Mâ initial-mass star. A significant fraction of the total mass (about 70%) is found to exist in the PDR, demonstrating the critical importance of the PDR in PNe that are generally recognized as the hallmark of ionized/H+ regions.
ABSTRACT
Recent R-matrix calculations of electron impact excitation rates in K v are used to derive the nebular emission line ratio R = I(4122.6 A)/I(4163.3 A) as a function of electron density (N(e)). This ratio is found to be very sensitive to changes in N(e) over the density range 10(3) to 10(6) cm(-3), but does not vary significantly with electron temperature, and hence in principle should provide an excellent optical N(e) diagnostic for the high-excitation zones of nebulae. The observed value of R for the planetary nebula NGC 7027, measured from a spectrum obtained with the Hamilton Echelle spectrograph on the 3-m Shane Telescope, implies a density in excellent agreement with that derived from [Ne iv], formed in the same region of the nebula as [K v]. This observation provides observational support for the accuracy of the theoretical [K v] line ratios, and hence the atomic data on which they are based. However, the analysis of a high-resolution spectrum of the symbiotic star RR Telescopii, obtained with the University College London Echelle Spectrograph on the 3.9-m Anglo-Australian Telescope, reveals that the [K v] 4122.6 A line in this object is badly blended with Fe ii 4122.6 A. Hence, the [K v] diagnostic may not be used for astrophysical sources that show a strong Fe ii emission line spectrum.
