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.
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