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J. B. Milingo, K. L. Barnes (Franklin & Marshall College), K. B. Kwitter, S. P. Souza (Williams College), R. B. C. Henry, J. N. Skinner (University of Oklahoma)
Planetary Nebulae (PNe) are well known fonts of information about both stellar evolution and galactic chemical evolution. Abundance patterns in PNe are used to note signatures and constraints of nuclear processing, and as tracers of the distribution of metals throughout galaxies. In this poster abundance gradients and heavy element ratios are presented based upon newly acquired spectrophotometry of a sample of Galactic Peimbert Type I PNe. This new data set is extracted from spectra that extend from \lambda3600 - 9600Å\ allowing the use of [S III] features at \lambda9069 and 9532Å. Since a significant portion of S in PNe resides in S+2 and higher ionization stages, including these features improves the extrapolation from observed ion abundances to total element abundance. An alternate metallicity tracer, Sulfur is precluded from enhancement and depletion across the range of PNe progenitor masses. Its stability in intermediate mass stars makes it a useful tool to probe the natal conditions as well as the evolution of PNe progenitors. This is a continuation of our Type II PNe work, the impetus being to compile a relatively large set of line strengths and abundances with internally consistent observation, reduction, calibration, and abundance determination, minimizing systematic affects that come from compiling various data sets. This research is supported by the AAS Small Research Grants program, the Franklin & Marshall Committee on Grants, and NSF grant AST-0307118.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: jmilingo@fandm.edu
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #4
© 2005. The American Astronomical Soceity.