Spitzer mid-infrared spectroscopic observations of planetary nebulae

We present Spitzer Space Telescope archival mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectroscopy of a sample of 11 planetary nebulae (PNe). The observations, acquired with the Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph (IRS), cover the spectral range 5.2-14.5 μm that includes the H 0-0 S(2) to S(7) rotational emission lines. This...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Mata, H., Ramos-Larios, G., Guerrero, Martín A., Nigoche-Netro, A., Toalá, Jesús A., Fang, X., Rubio, G., Kemp, S. N., Navarro, S. G., Corral, L. J.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/376213
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/376213
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:ISM: lines and bands
Planetary nebulae: general
Planetary nebulae: individual: (M 2-51, NGC 2346, NGC 2440, NGC 2818, NGC 3132, NGC 6072, NGC 6445, NGC 6537, NGC 6720, NGC 6781, NGC 7293
Infrared: general
Descripción
Sumario:We present Spitzer Space Telescope archival mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectroscopy of a sample of 11 planetary nebulae (PNe). The observations, acquired with the Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph (IRS), cover the spectral range 5.2-14.5 μm that includes the H 0-0 S(2) to S(7) rotational emission lines. This wavelength coverage has allowed us to derive the Boltzmann distribution and calculate the H rotational excitation temperature (T). The derived excitation temperatures have consistent values ≃900 ± 70 K for different sources despite their different structural components. We also report the detection of mid-IR ionic lines of [Ar], [S], and [Ne] in most objects, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon features in a few cases. The decline of the [Ar]/[Ne] line ratio with the stellar effective temperature can be explained either by a true neon enrichment or by high density circumstellar regions of PNe that presumably descend from higher mass progenitor stars. © 2016 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.