Elemental abundances in the Crab nebula

Journal Article · Wed Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1986 · Publ. Astron. Soc. Pac.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1086/131870· OSTI ID:6482735

Henry, R B.C.

Current photoionization models of the Crab nebula filaments are discussed and the inferred elemental abundances compared with nuclear theory and predictions from a stellar evolution model. In contrast to the conventional picture, which predicts a large overabundance of N in the He-rich filaments, results of one filament model indicate that the gas is actually He and Ne rich, suggesting that much of the N-14 was transformed into Ne-22 during helium shell burning just prior to the explosion. This scenario is consistent with a progenitor mass of slightly greater than 9.5 solar masses. In addition, it is pointed out that the observation of strong forbidden N II 7378 A in the Crab filaments is unlikely to be related to an overabundance of Ni, since similar line strengths have been observed in other diverse objects. 41 references.

• Research Organization: Oklahoma Univ., Norman
• OSTI ID: 6482735
• Journal Information: Publ. Astron. Soc. Pac.; (United States), Journal Name: Publ. Astron. Soc. Pac.; (United States) Vol. 98; ISSN PASPA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640102 -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Stars & Quasi-Stellar
Radio & X-Ray Sources
640105* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Galaxies
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ABUNDANCE
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
COSMIC RADIO SOURCES
CRAB NEBULA
ELEMENT ABUNDANCE
IONIZATION
MASS
NEBULAE
PHOTOIONIZATION
STAR EVOLUTION
SUPERNOVA REMNANTS