Physics of Ionized Nebulae

    General
    Description

    The research that is being carried out by the group can be condensed into two main lines:

    1) Study of the structure, dynamics, physical conditions and chemical evolution of Galactic and extragalactic ionized nebulae through detailed analysis and modelization of their spectra. Investigation of chemical composition gradients along the disk of our Galaxy and in nearby galaxies.

    2) Determine the physical-chemical conditions of galactic planetary nebulae with bipolar geometry and nebulae around symbiotic stars. The aim is to understand the origin of bipolarity and to test theoretical models that attempt to explain nebular morphology and kinematics, with special emphasis on models with central binary stars. We will also study the implications of the evolution of binary systems in other astrophysical scenarios, such as the formation of jets, cataclysmic variables, and nova and supernova-type explosions.

    Principal investigator
    Project manager
    Collaborators
    Dr.
    A.R. López Sánchez
    Dr.
    N.C. Sterling
    Dra.
    Karla Z. Arellano Córdoba
    Dr.
    T. Hillwig
    Dr.
    M. Santander García
    Prof.
    B. Balick
    Dr.
    D. R. Gonçalves
    Dra.
    K. Kwitter
    Dr.
    A. Prsa
    1. Using EMIR/GTC spectra in the near infrared range, tellurium and bromine emission lines have been detected for the first time in two planetary nebulae. These heavy element detections in one of their places where they are formed, give us information about the abundance patterns of heavy elements owing to the r-process and the s-process.

    Related publications

    • Gas-phase Fe/O and Fe/N abundances in star-forming regions: Relations between nucleosynthesis, metallicity, and dust
      Context. In stars, metallicity is usually traced using Fe, while in nebulae, O serves as the preferred proxy. Both elements have different nucleosynthetic origins and are not directly comparable. Additionally, in ionized nebulae, Fe is heavily depleted onto dust grains. Aims. We investigate the distribution of Fe gas abundances in a sample of 452
      Carigi, L. et al.

      Advertised on:

      10
      2024
      Citations
      1
    • Planetary nebulae seen with TESS: New and revisited short-period binary central star candidates from Cycles 1 to 4
      Context. High-precision and high-cadence photometric surveys such as Kepler or TESS are making huge progress not only in the detection of new extrasolar planets but also in the study of a great number of variable stars. This is the case for central stars of planetary nebulae (PNe), which have similarly benefited from the capabilities of these
      Aller, Alba et al.

      Advertised on:

      10
      2024
      Citations
      3
    • Five new eclipsing binaries with low-mass companions
      Precise space-based photometry from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite results in a huge number of exoplanetary candidates. However, the masses of these objects are unknown and must be determined by ground-based spectroscopic follow-up observations, frequently revealing the companions to be low-mass stars rather than exoplanets. We present
      Lipták, J. et al.

      Advertised on:

      10
      2024
      Citations
      0
    • MUSE spectroscopy of the high abundance discrepancy planetary nebula NGC 6153
      Context. The abundance discrepancy problem in planetary nebulae (PNe) has long puzzled astronomers. NGC 6153, with its high abundance discrepancy factor (ADF ~ 10), provides a unique opportunity to study the chemical structure and ionisation processes within these objects. Aims. We aim to understand the chemical structure and ionisation processes
      Gómez-Llanos, V. et al.

      Advertised on:

      9
      2024
      Citations
      2
    • Detection of the [C I] λ8727 emission line. Low-ionization structures in NGC 7009
      We report the first spatially resolved detection of the near-infrared [C I] λ8727 emission from the outer pair of low-ionization structures in the planetary nebula NGC 7009 from data obtained by the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer integral field unit. This atomic carbon emission marks the transition zone between ionized and neutral gas and for
      Akras, S. et al.

      Advertised on:

      9
      2024
      Citations
      0
    • Excitation mechanisms of C II optical permitted lines in ionized nebulae
      Context. Carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the universe and its distribution is critical to understanding stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis. In optical studies of ionized nebulae, the only way to determine the C/H abundance is by using faint C II recombination lines (RLs). However, these lines give systematically higher abundances
      Reyes-Rodríguez, E. et al.

      Advertised on:

      7
      2024
      Citations
      1
    • HD 110067 c has an aligned orbit. Measuring the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect inside a resonant multi-planet system with ESPRESSO
      Planetary systems in mean motion resonances hold a special place among the planetary population. They allow us to study planet formation in great detail as dissipative processes are thought to have played an important role in their existence. Additionally, planetary masses in bright resonant systems can be independently measured via both radial
      Zak, J. et al.

      Advertised on:

      7
      2024
      Citations
      1
    • Effects of density and temperature variations on the metallicity of Mrk 71
      In a very recent work, [1] claim that the scenario of temperature inhomogeneities proposed by [2] ($t2$ > 0) is not able to explain the O$^{2+}$/H$^{+}$ abundance discrepancy observed between the calculations based on the optical [OIII] collisional excited lines (CELs) and the OII recombination lines (RLs) in the star forming galaxy Mrk71. In this
      Méndez-Delgado, J. Eduardo et al.

      Advertised on:

      3
      2024
      Citations
      6
    • Atomic Data Assessment with PyNeb: Radiative and Electron Impact Excitation Rates for [Fe ii] and [Fe iii]
      We use the PyNeb 1.1.16 Python package to evaluate the atomic datasets available for the spectral modeling of [Fe ii] and [Fe iii], which list level energies, A-values, and effective collision strengths. Most datasets are reconstructed from the sources, and new ones are incorporated to be compared with observed and measured benchmarks. For [Fe iii]
      Mendoza, Claudio et al.

      Advertised on:

      4
      2023
      Citations
      7
    • An eclipsing 47 min double white dwarf binary at 400 pc
      We present the discovery of the eclipsing double white dwarf (WD) binary WDJ 022558.21-692025.38 that has an orbital period of 47.19 min. Following identification with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, we obtained time series ground based spectroscopy and high-speed multiband ULTRACAM photometry which indicate a primary DA WD of mass $0.40
      Munday, James et al.

      Advertised on:

      10
      2023
      Citations
      6
    • PM 1-322: New variable planetary nebula
      Context. Spectra of planetary nebulae (PNe) are characterised by strong forbidden emission lines and often also by an infrared (IR) excess. A few PNe show dust obscuration events and/or harbour long-period binaries. Some post-asymptotic giant branch stars, symbiotic stars, or B[e] stars may feature similar characteristics. Recently, dust clouds
      Paunzen, E. et al.

      Advertised on:

      8
      2023
      Citations
      2
    • Everything that glitters is not gold: V1315 Cas is not a dormant black hole
      The quest for quiet or dormant black holes has been ongoing since several decades. Ellipsoidal variables possibly indicate the existence of a very high-mass invisible companion and are thought to be one of the best ways to find such dormant black holes. This, however, is not a panacea as we show here with one example. We indeed report the discovery
      Zak, J. et al.

      Advertised on:

      10
      2023
      Citations
      3
    • Panning for gold, but finding helium: Discovery of the ultra-stripped supernova SN 2019wxt from gravitational-wave follow-up observations
      We present the results from multi-wavelength observations of a transient discovered during an intensive follow-up campaign of S191213g, a gravitational wave (GW) event reported by the LIGO-Virgo Collaboration as a possible binary neutron star merger in a low latency search. This search yielded SN 2019wxt, a young transient in a galaxy whose sky
      Agudo, I. et al.

      Advertised on:

      7
      2023
      Citations
      8
    • The computation of interstellar extinction in photoionized nebulae
      Context. The proper plasma analysis practice (PPAP) method has been proposed to analyze spectroscopic data of ionized nebulae. The method is based on a coherent and simultaneous determination of the reddening correction and physical conditions in nebulae. The PPAP method's creators reanalyzed the results of nine of the brightest planetary nebulae
      Morisset, Christophe et al.

      Advertised on:

      6
      2023
      Citations
      1
    • Temperature inhomogeneities cause the abundance discrepancy in H II regions
      H II regions are ionized nebulae surrounding massive stars. They exhibit a wealth of emission lines that form the basis for estimation of chemical composition. Heavy elements regulate the cooling of interstellar gas, and are essential to the understanding of several phenomena such as nucleosynthesis, star formation and chemical evolution 1,2. For
      Méndez-Delgado, J. Eduardo et al.

      Advertised on:

      6
      2023
      Citations
      34
    • Density biases and temperature relations for DESIRED H II regions
      We present a first study based on the analysis of the DEep Spectra of Ionized REgions Data base (DESIRED). This is a compilation of 190 high signal-to-noise ratio optical spectra of $\mathrm{H\, \scriptstyle II}$ regions and other photoionized nebulae, mostly observed with 8-10 m telescopes and containing ~29 380 emission lines. We find that the
      Méndez-Delgado, J. E. et al.

      Advertised on:

      8
      2023
      Citations
      26
    • Volumetric Rates of Luminous Red Novae and Intermediate-luminosity Red Transients with the Zwicky Transient Facility
      Luminous red novae (LRNe) are transients characterized by low luminosities and expansion velocities, and they are associated with mergers or common-envelope ejections in stellar binaries. Intermediate-luminosity red transients (ILRTs) are an observationally similar class with unknown origins, but they are generally believed to be either electron
      Karambelkar, Viraj R. et al.

      Advertised on:

      5
      2023
      Citations
      21
    • Analysis of integral field spectroscopy observations of the planetary nebula Hen 2-108 and its central star
      The study of planetary nebulae provides important constraints for many aspects of stellar and Galactic evolution. Hen 2-108 is a poorly known planetary nebula with a slight elliptical morphology and a peculiar central star (CS), which has defied classification. In this work, we present the first detailed integral field spectroscopic study of the
      Miranda Marques, Bárbara L. et al.

      Advertised on:

      6
      2023
      Citations
      3
    • Planetary nebulae hosting accreting white dwarfs: a possible solution for the mysterious cut-off of planetary nebula luminosity function?
      Many binary companions to the central stars of planetary nebulae (PNe) are found to be inflated, perhaps indicating that accretion onto the central star might occur during the planetary nebula (PN) phase. The discovery of a handful of nova eruptions and supersoft X-ray sources inside PNe supports this hypothesis. In this paper, we investigate the
      Souropanis, D. et al.

      Advertised on:

      5
      2023
      Citations
      4
    • The messy death of a multiple star system and the resulting planetary nebula as observed by JWST
      Planetary nebulae—the ejected envelopes of red giant stars—provide us with a history of the last, mass-losing phases of 90% of stars initially more massive than the Sun. Here we analyse images of the planetary nebula NGC 3132 from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Early Release Observations. A structured, extended hydrogen halo surrounding an
      De Marco, Orsola et al.

      Advertised on:

      12
      2022
      Citations
      22

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