Related papers: The Planetary Nebula Luminosity Function
The [O III] 5007 Angstrom line is typically the brightest line in planetary nebula (PN) spectra. Observations show that the brightest [O III] 5007 Angstrom PN in a galaxy -- the planetary nebula luminosity function (PNLF) bright-end cutoff…
The Planetary Nebulae Luminosity Function (PNLF) describes the collective luminosity evolution for a given population of Planetary Nebulae (PN). A major paradox in current PNLF studies is in the universality of the absolute magnitude of the…
[OIII]5007 on-band off-band images, obtained with the VLT and FORS2 spectrograph in two zones (center and outskirts) of the spiral galaxy NGC300, are analyzed searching for emission line objects. In particular we search for planetary nebula…
The nebular evolution is followed from the vicinity of the asymptotic-giant branch across the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram until the white-dwarf domain is reached, using various central-star models coupled to different initial envelope…
We compare the observed symbiotic nebulae (SyN) luminosity function (SyNLF) in the [O III] 5007A line to the planetary nebulae (PN) luminosity function (PNLF) and find that the intrinsic SyNLF (ISyNLF) of galactic SyNs has - within its…
Our previous identification and spectroscopic confirmation of 431 faint, new planetary nebulae in the central 25 deg^2 region of the LMC permits us to now examine the shape of the LMC Planetary Nebula Luminosity Function (PNLF) through an…
We describe a revised procedure for the numerical simulation of planetary nebulae luminosity functions (PNLF), improving on previous work (M\'endez & Soffner 1997). The procedure now is based on new H-burning post-AGB evolutionary tracks…
In this paper we derive the galaxy luminosity function from the Nearby Optical Galaxy (NOG) sample, which is a nearly complete, magnitude-limited (B<14 mag), all-sky sample of nearby optical galaxies (~6400 galaxies with cz<5500 km/s). For…
We present a compilation of Cepheid distance moduli and data for four secondary distance indicators that employ stars in the old stellar populations: the planetary nebula luminosity function (PNLF), the globular cluster luminosity function…
Extragalactic planetary nebulae (PNe) offer a way to determine the distance to their host galaxies thanks to the nearly universal shape of the planetary nebulae luminosity function (PNLF). Accurate PNe distance measurements rely on…
The luminosity function of planetary nebulae populations in galaxies within 10-15 Mpc distance has a cut-off at bright magnitudes and a functional form that is observed to be invariant in different galaxy morphological types. Thus it is…
We report the results of a photometric and spectroscopic survey for planetary nebulae (PNe) in the Local Group spiral galaxy M33. We use our sample of 152 PNe to derive an [O III] planetary nebula luminosity function (PNLF) distance of…
Extragalactic planetary nebulae (PNe) are detectable through relatively strong nebulous [OIII] emission and act as direct probes into the local stellar population. Because they have an apparently universal invariant magnitude cut-off, PNe…
Gravitational lensing by galaxy clusters can create extreme magnification near the cluster caustics, thereby enabling detection of individual luminous stars in high-redshift background galaxies. Those stars can include non-explosive…
We have imaged $\sim$ 1 deg$^{2}$ in the V-band in the direction of the Hercules Cluster (Abell 2151). The data are used to compute for the first time the luminosity function (LF) of galaxies in the cluster down to the dwarf regime…
The practice of measuring galaxy distances from their spatial fluctuations in surface brightness is now a decade old. While several past articles have included some review material, this is the first intended as a comprehensive review of…
As the first step to determine disk mass-to-light ratios for normal spiral galaxies, we present the results of an imaging survey for planetary nebulae (PNe) in six nearby, face-on systems: IC 342, M74 (NGC 628), M83 (NGC 5236), M94 (NGC…
Distant planetary nebulae (PNe) are used to measure distances through the PN luminosity function, as kinematic tracers in determining the mass distribution in elliptical galaxies, and most recently, for measuring the kinematics of the…
Measuring the distances to Galactic planetary nebulae (PNe) has been an intractable problem for many decades. We have now established a robust optical statistical distance indicator, the H$\alpha$ surface brightness- radius or S-r relation,…
Planetary nebulae are now well established as probes of galaxy dynamics and as standard candles in distance determinations. Motivated by the need to improve the efficiency of planetary nebulae searches and the speed with which their radial…