Publication: On nitrogen abundances of planetary nebulae
Open/View Files
Date
1981
Published Version
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you.
Citation
Wilkes, B. J., G. J. Ferland, D. Hanes, and J. W. Truran. 1981. “On Nitrogen Abundances of Planetary Nebulae.” Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 197 (1) (November 1): 1–6. doi:10.1093/mnras/197.1.1.
Research Data
Abstract
Observations of N II recombination lines in the planetary nebula NGC 3242 are presented which allow the first temperature independent measurement of the nitrogen abundance of a nebula. Model nebula calculations are utilized to identify a reliable N/H indicator. The standard technique employing strong forbidden lines and the approximation that N/O ≃ N+/O+ may introduce systematic errors greater than 25 per cent. A good compromise is to set N/He = (N2+ + N+)/He+. The N/H abundance deduced in this manner is in reasonable (≃ 25 per cent) agreement with that deduced from the standard analysis.
Description
Other Available Sources
Keywords
Terms of Use
This article is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material (LAA), as set forth at Terms of Service