Large planetary nebulae and their significance to the late stages of stellar evolution

Journal Article · Wed Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1990 · Astrophysical Journal; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1086/169073· OSTI ID:6407022

Kaler, J B; Shaw, R A; Kwitter, K B ^[1]

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1. Illinois Univ., Urbana (USA) Computer Sciences Corp., Greenbelt, MD (USA) Williams College, Williamstown, MA (USA)

Spectrophotometry of 75 large PNe with Shklovsky radii greater than 0.15 pc is presented and used to calculate nebular parameters and compositions, stellar Zanstra temperatures and luminosities, and core masses. Nine new Peimbert type I nebulae are identified. About 40 percent of the stars that are on cooling tracks are above 0.7 solar mass, and over 15 percent are above 0.8 solar mass. The large planetaries demonstrate a clear positive correlation between nitrogen enrichment and core mass. N/O is anticorrelated with O/H. The radii of the nebulae whose stars lie along specific cooling tracks increase monotonically with decreasing central star temperature. For a given central temperature, the nebular radii also increase with increasing core mass, showing that in this part of the log L-log T plane the higher mass cores evolve more slowly in agreement with theoretical prediction. However, theoretical evolutionary rates for the large nebulae stars appear to be much too slow. 103 refs.

• OSTI ID: 6407022
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal; (USA), Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal; (USA) Vol. 359; ISSN ASJOA; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640102* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Stars & Quasi-Stellar
Radio & X-Ray Sources
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
BRIGHTNESS
CALCULATION METHODS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
DWARF STARS
ELEMENTS
INTERSTELLAR SPACE
LUMINOSITY
MASS
NEBULAE
NITROGEN
NONMETALS
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PLANETARY NEBULAE
SPACE
SPECTROPHOTOMETRY
STAR EVOLUTION
STARS
TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT
WHITE DWARF STARS