Related papers: Atomic Processes in Planetary Nebulae and H II Reg…
A hot central star illuminating the surrounding ionized H II region usually produces very rich atomic spectra resulting from basic atomic processes: photoionization, electron-ion recombination, bound-bound radiative transitions, and…
This chapter presents a review on the latest advances in the computation of physical conditions and chemical abundances of elements present in photoionized gas H II regions and planetary nebulae). The arrival of highly sensitive…
Spectroscopy of planetary nebulae (PNe) provides the means to investigate s-process enrichments of neutron(n)-capture elements that cannot be detected in asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. However, accurate abundance determinations of…
[Abridged] Investigations of neutron(n)-capture element nucleosynthesis and chemical evolution have largely been based on stellar spectroscopy. However, the recent detection of these elements in several planetary nebulae (PNe) indicates…
High spectral resolution spectroscopy has proved to be very useful for the advancement of chemical abundances studies in photoionized nebulae, such as H II regions and planetary nebulae (PNe). Classical analyses make use of the intensity of…
Since the last IAU symposium on planetary nebulae (PNe), several deep spectroscopic surveys of the relatively faint optical recombination lines (ORLs) emitted by heavy element ions in PNe and H II regions have been completed. New diagnostic…
We carry out plasma diagnostic analyses for 123 planetary nebulae (PNe) and 42 H II regions using the N II and O II optical recombination lines (ORLs). New effective recombination coefficients for the N II and O II optical recombination…
The study of photoionised gas in planetary nebulae (PNe) has played a major role achieving, over the years, a better understanding of a number of physical processes pertinent to a broader range of fields than just PNe studies, ranging from…
Nebular spectroscopy is a valuable tool for assessing the production of heavy elements by slow neutron(n)-capture nucleosynthesis (the s-process). Several transitions of n-capture elements have been identified in planetary nebulae (PNe) in…
We present medium-resolution (R~700) near-infrared (lambda = 1 - 2.5 micron) spectra of a sample of planetary nebulae (PNe). A narrow slit was used which sampled discrete locations within the nebulae; observations were obtained at one or…
Planetary nebulae (PNe) are an important tool for studying the dynamics and chemical evolution of galaxies in the Local Universe, given their characteristic, bright emission line spectra. The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) provides a unique…
Planetary Nebulae (PNe) abundance patterns have long been used to note signatures of nuclear processing and to trace the distribution of metals throughout galaxies. We present abundance gradients and heavy element ratios based upon newly…
Neutron(n)-capture elements are produced by s-process nucleosynthesis in low- and intermediate-mass AGB stars, and therefore can be enriched in planetary nebulae (PNe). In the last ten years, n-capture elements have been detected in more…
The study of photoionised gas in planetary nebulae (PNe) has played a major role in the achievement, over the years, of a better understanding of a number of physical processes, pertinent to a broader range of fields than that of PNe…
We study the density structures of planetary nebulae implied by four diagnostics that sample different regions within the nebulae: [S II] $\lambda6716/\lambda6731$, [O II] $\lambda3726/\lambda3729$, [Cl III] $\lambda5518/\lambda5538$, and…
The Local Group contains a great number of dwarf irregulars and spheroidals, for which the spectroscopy of individual stars can be obtained. Thus, the chemical evolution of these galaxies can be traced, with the only need of finding…
Neutron(n)-capture elements (atomic number Z>30), which can be produced in planetary nebula (PN) progenitor stars via s-process nucleosynthesis, have been detected in nearly 100 PNe. This demonstrates that nebular spectroscopy is a…
We review the evolution of our understanding of the planetary nebulae phenomenon and their place in the scheme of stellar evolution. The historical steps leading to our current understanding of central star evolution and nebular formation…
The detection of neutron(n)-capture elements in several planetary nebulae (PNe) has provided a new means of investigating s-process nucleosynthesis in low-mass stars. However, a lack of atomic data has inhibited accurate trans-iron element…
High-precision spectroscopy of large stellar samples plays a crucial role for several topical issues in astrophysics. Examples include studying the chemical structure and evolution of the Milky Way galaxy, tracing the origin of chemical…