We present the results of a large-scale survey of neutron(n)-capture elements in Galactic planetary nebulae (PNe), undertaken to study enrichments from sprocess nucleosynthesis in their progenitor stars. From new K band observations of over 100 PNe supplemented by data from the literature, we have detected the emission lines [Kr III] 2.199 and/or [Se IV] 2.287 µm in 81 of 120 objects. We determine Se and Kr elemental abundances, employing ionization correction formulae derived in the first paper of this series. We find a significant range in Se and Kr abundances, from near solar (no enrichment) to enhanced by >1.0 dex relative to solar, which we interpret as self-enrichment due to in situ s-process nucleosynthesis. Kr tends to be more strongly enriched than Se; in 18 objects exhibiting both Se and Kr emission, we find that [Kr/Se] = 0.5±0.2.Our survey has increased the number of PNe with n-capture element abundance determinations by a factor of ten, enabling us for the first time to search for correlations with other nebular properties. As expected, we find a positive correlation between s-process enrichments and the C/O ratio. Type I and bipolar PNe, which arise from intermediate-mass progenitors (> 3-4 M ⊙ ), exhibit little to no s-process enrichments. Finally, PNe with H-deficient Wolf-Rayet central stars do not exhibit systematically larger s-process enrichments than objects with H-rich nuclei. Overall, 44% of the PNe in our sample display significant s-process enrichments (> 0.3 dex). Using an empirical PN luminosity function to correct for incompleteness, we estimate that the true fraction of s-process enriched Galactic PNe is at least 20%.

1 This paper includes data taken at The -2 -Type I planetary nebulae (PNe) have high He/H and N/O ratios and are thought to be descendants of stars with initial masses of ∼ 3 -8M ⊙ . These characteristics indicate that the progenitor stars experienced proton-capture nucleosynthesis at the base of the convective envelope, in addition to the slow neutron capture process operating in the He-shell (the s-process). We compare the predicted abundances of elements up to Sr from models of intermediate-mass asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars to measured abundances in Type I PNe.In particular, we compare predictions and observations for the light trans-iron elements Se and Kr, in order to constrain convective mixing and the s-process in these stars. A partial mixing zone is included in selected models to explore the effect of a 13 C pocket on the s-process yields. The solar-metallicity models produce enrichments of [(Se, Kr)/Fe] 0.6, consistent with Galactic Type I PNe where the observed enhancements are typically 0.3 dex, while lower metallicity models predict larger enrichments of C, N, Se, and Kr. O destruction occurs in the most massive models but it is not efficient enough to account for the 0.3 dex O depletions observed in some Type I PNe. It is not possible to reach firm conclusions regarding the neutron source operating in massive AGB stars from Se and Kr abundances in Type I PNe; abundances for more s-process elements may help to distinguish between the two neutron sources. We predict that only the most massive (M 5M ⊙ ) models would evolve into Type I PNe, indicating that extra-mixing processes are active in lower-mass stars (3-4M ⊙ ), if these stars are to evolve into Type I PNe.

We present the first K 0 -band, long-baseline interferometric observations of the northern Be stars Cas, Per, Tau, and Dra. The measurements were made with multiple telescope pairs of the CHARA Array interferometer and in every case the observations indicate that the circumstellar disks of the targets are resolved. We fit the interferometric visibilities with predictions from a simple disk model that assumes an isothermal gas in Keplerian rotation. We derive fits of the four model parameters (disk base density, radial density exponent, disk normal inclination, and position angle) for each of the targets. The resulting densities are in broad agreement with prior studies of the IR excess flux, and the resulting orientations generally agree with those from interferometric H and continuum polarimetric observations. We find that the angular size of the K 0 disk emission is smaller than that determined for the H emission, and we argue that the difference is the result of a larger H opacity and the relatively larger neutral hydrogen fraction with increasing disk radius. All the targets are known binaries with faint companions, and we find that companions appear to influence the interferometric visibilities in the cases of Per and Dra. We also present contemporaneous observations of the H, H, and Br emission lines. Synthetic model profiles of these lines that are based on the same disk inclination and radial density exponent as derived from the CHARA Array observations match the observed emission line strength if the disk base density is reduced by %1.7 dex.

We have conducted a large-scale survey of 120 planetary nebulae (PNe) to search for the near-infrared emission lines [Kr iii] 2.199 m and [Se iv] 2.287 m. The neutron (n)-capture elements Se and Kr may be enriched in a PN if its progenitor star experienced s-process nucleosynthesis and third dredge-up. In order to determine Se and Kr abundances, we have added these elements to the atomic databases of the photoionization codes Cloudy and XSTAR, which we use to derive ionization correction factors ( ICFs) to account for the abundances of unobserved Se and Kr ions. However, much of the atomic data governing the ionization balance of these two elements are unknown, and have been approximated from general principles. We find that uncertainties in the atomic data can lead to errors approaching 0.3 dex in the derived Se abundances and up to 0.2Y0.25 dex for Kr. To reduce the uncertainties in the Kr ionization balance stemming from the approximate atomic data, we have modeled 10 bright PNe in our sample, selected because they exhibit emission lines from multiple Kr ions in their optical and near-infrared spectra. We have empirically adjusted the uncertain Kr atomic data until the observed line intensities of the various Kr ions are adequately reproduced by our models. Using the adjusted Kr atomic data, we have computed a grid of models over a wide range of physical parameters (central star temperature, nebular density, and ionization parameter) and derived formulae that can be used to compute Se and Kr ICFs. In the second paper of this series, we will apply these ICFs to our full sample of 120 PNe, which comprises the first large-scale survey of n-capture elements in PNe.

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 abundance determinations in astrophysical nebulae. Recently, photoionization and recombination data were determined for Se and Kr, the two most widely detected n-capture elements in nebular spectra. We have incorporated these new data into the photoionization code Cloudy. To test the atomic data, numerical models were computed for 15 PNe that exhibit emission lines from multiple Kr ions. We found systematic discrepancies between the predicted and observed emission lines that are most likely caused by inaccurate photoionization and recombination data. These discrepancies were removed by adjusting the Kr + -Kr 3+ photoionization cross sections within their cited uncertainties and the dielectronic recombination rate coefficients by slightly larger amounts. From grids of models spanning the physical conditions encountered in PNe, we derive new, broadly applicable ionization correction factor (ICF) formulae for calculating Se and Kr elemental abundances. The ICFs were applied to our previous survey of near-infrared [Kr III] and [Se IV] emission lines in 120 PNe. The revised Se and Kr abundances are 0.1-0.3 dex lower than former estimates, with average values of [Se/(O, Ar)] = 0.12±0.27 and [Kr/(O, Ar)] = 0.82±0.29, but correlations previously found between their abundances and other nebular and stellar properties are unaffected. We also find a tendency for high-velocity PNe that can be associated with the Galactic thick disk to exhibit larger s-process enrichments than low-velocity PNe belonging to the thin disk population.

The chemical content of the planetary nebula NGC 3918 is investigated through deep, highresolution (R∼40000) UVES at VLT spectrophotometric data. We identify and measure more than 750 emission lines, making ours one of the deepest spectra ever taken for a planetary nebula. Among these lines we detect very faint lines of several neutron-capture elements (Se, Kr, Rb, and Xe), which enable us to compute their chemical abundances with unprecedented accuracy, thus constraining the efficiency of the s-process and convective dredge-up in NGC 3918s progenitor star. We find that Kr is strongly enriched in NGC 3918 and that Se is less enriched than Kr, in agreement with the results of previous papers and with predicted s-process nucleosynthesis. We also find that Xe is not as enriched by the s-process in NGC 3918 as is Kr and, therefore, that neutron exposure is typical of modestly subsolar metallicity AGB stars. A clear correlation is found when representing [Kr/O] vs. log(C/O) for NGC 3918 and other objects with detection of multiple ions of Kr in optical data, confirming that carbon is brought to the surface of AGB stars along with s-processed material during third dredge-up episodes, as predicted by nucleosynthesis models. We also detect numerous refractory element lines (Ca, K, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu) and a large number of metal recombination lines of C, N, O, and Ne. We compute physical conditions from a large number of diagnostics, which are highly consistent among themselves assuming a three-zone ionization scheme. Thanks to the high ionization of NGC 3918 we detect a large number of recombination lines of multiple ionization stages of C, N, O and Ne. The abundances obtained for these elements by using recently-determined state-of-the-art ICF schemes or simply adding ionic abundances are in very good agreement, demonstrating the quality of the recent ICF scheme for high ionization planetary nebulae.

We present multi-configuration Breit-Pauli AUTOSTRUCTURE calculations of distorted-wave photoionization (PI) cross sections, and total and partial final-state resolved radiative recombination (RR) and dielectronic recombination (DR) rate coefficients for the first six ions of the trans-iron element Se. These calculations were motivated by the recent detection of Se emission lines in a large number of planetary nebulae. Se is a potentially useful tracer of neutron-capture nucleosynthesis, but accurate determinations of its abundance in photoionized nebulae have been hindered by the lack of atomic data governing its ionization balance. Our calculations were carried out in intermediate coupling with semi-relativistic radial wavefunctions. PI and recombination data were determined for levels within the ground configuration of each ion, and experimental PI cross-section measurements were used to benchmark our results. For DR, we allowed Δn = 0 core excitations, which are important at photoionized plasma temperatures. We find that DR is the dominant recombination process for each of these Se ions at temperatures representative of photoionized nebulae (∼10 4 K). In order to estimate the uncertainties of these data, we compared results from three different configuration-interaction expansions for each ion, and also tested the sensitivity of the results to the radial scaling factors in the structure calculations. We find that the internal uncertainties are typically 30-50% for the direct PI cross sections and ∼10% for the computed RR rate coefficients, while those for low-temperature DR can be considerably larger (from 15-30% up to two orders of magnitude) due to the unknown energies of near-threshold autoionization resonances. These data are available at the CDS, and fitting coefficients to the total RR and DR rate coefficients are presented. The results are suitable for incorporation into photoionization codes used to numerically simulate astrophysical nebulae, and will enable robust determinations of nebular Se abundances.

Abstract. Absolute photoionization cross-section measurements are reported for Se + in the photon energy range 18.0-31.0 eV, which spans the ionization thresholds of the 4 S 3/2 ground state and the low-lying 2 P 3/2,1/2 and 2 D 5/2,3/2 metastable states. The measurements were performed using the Advanced Light Source synchrotron radiation facility. Strong photoexcitation-autoionization resonances due to 4p→nd transitions are seen in the cross-section spectrum and identified with a quantum-defect analysis.PACS numbers: 32.80. Fb, 32.80.Zb, 95.30.Dr, 95.30.Ky, 97.10.Cv, 98.38.Ly