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

    • 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
      6
    • 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
      5
    • 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
      1
    • 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
      6
    • 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
      24
    • 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
      17
    • 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
      17
    • 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
      1
    • 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
      3
    • 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
      16
    • The homogeneity of chemical abundances in H II regions of the Magellanic Clouds
      We use very deep spectra obtained with the Ultraviolet-Visual Echelle Spectrograph at the Very Large Telescope to derive physical conditions and chemical abundances of four H II regions of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and four H II regions of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). The observations cover the spectral range 3100-10400 Å with a
      Domínguez-Guzmán, G. et al.

      Advertised on:

      12
      2022
      Citations
      12
    • Searching for the next Galactic Luminous red nova
      Luminous red novae (LRNe) are astrophysical transients believed to be caused by the partial ejection of a binary star's common envelope (CE) and the merger of its components. The formation of the CE is likely to occur during unstable mass transfer, initiated by a primary star which is evolving off the main sequence (a Hertzsprung gap star) and a
      Addison, Harry et al.

      Advertised on:

      12
      2022
      Citations
      4
    • Hubble constant and nuclear equation of state from kilonova spectro-photometric light curves
      The merger of two compact objects of which at least one is a neutron star is signalled by transient electromagnetic emission in a kilonova (KN). This event is accompanied by gravitational waves and possibly other radiation messengers such as neutrinos or cosmic rays. The electromagnetic emission arises from the radioactive decay of heavy r-process
      Pérez-García, M. A. et al.

      Advertised on:

      10
      2022
      Citations
      7
    • A detailed study of the barium central star of the planetary nebula Abell 70
      We present a detailed study of the barium star at the heart of the planetary nebula Abell 70. Time-series photometry obtained over a period of more than 10 yr demonstrates that the barium-contaminated companion is a rapid rotator with temporal variability due to spots. The amplitude and phasing of the photometric variability change abruptly
      Jones, David et al.

      Advertised on:

      11
      2022
      Citations
      2
    • MUSSES2020J: The Earliest Discovery of a Fast Blue Ultraluminous Transient at Redshift 1.063
      In this Letter, we report the discovery of an ultraluminous fast-evolving transient in rest-frame UV wavelengths, MUSSES2020J, soon after its occurrence by using the Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) mounted on the 8.2 m Subaru telescope. The rise time of about 5 days with an extremely high UV peak luminosity shares similarities to a handful of fast blue
      Jiang, Ji-an et al.

      Advertised on:

      7
      2022
      Citations
      9
    • Photoionized Herbig-Haro objects in the Orion Nebula through deep high-spectral resolution spectroscopy - III. HH 514
      We analyse the physical conditions and chemical composition of the photoionized Herbig-Haro object HH 514, which emerges from the protoplanetary disc (proplyd) 170-337 in the core of the Orion Nebula. We use high-spectral resolution spectroscopy from Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph at the Very Large Telescope and IFU-spectra from MEGARA
      Méndez-Delgado, J. E. et al.

      Advertised on:

      7
      2022
      Citations
      11
    • About Metallicity Variations in the Local Galactic Interstellar Medium
      In this paper we discuss and confront recent results on metallicity variations in the local interstellar medium, obtained from observations of H II regions and neutral clouds of the Galactic thin disk, and compare them with recent high-quality metallicity determinations of other tracers of the chemical composition of the interstellar medium as B
      Esteban, C. et al.

      Advertised on:

      6
      2022
      Citations
      25
    • Spectroscopic analysis tool for intEgraL fieLd unIt daTacubEs (SATELLITE): case studies of NGC 7009 and NGC 6778 with MUSE
      Integral field spectroscopy (IFS) provides a unique capability to spectroscopically study extended sources over a 2D field of view, but it also requires new techniques and tools. In this paper, we present an automatic code, Spectroscopic Analysis Tool for intEgraL fieLd unIt daTacubEs, SATELLITE, designed to fully explore such capability in the
      Akras, S. et al.

      Advertised on:

      5
      2022
      Citations
      11

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