TY - JOUR
T1 - Recombination of Hot Ionized Nebulae
T2 - The Old Planetary Nebula around V4334 Sgr (Sakurai’s Star)* * This investigation makes use of ESO data from program IDs 077.D-0394, 079.D-0256, 381.D-0117, 383.D-0427, 385.D-0292, 087.D-0223, 089.D-0080, 091.D-0209, 093.D-0195, 095.D-0113, 097.D-0146, 099.D-0045, and 0109.D-0060.
AU - Reichel, Martin
AU - Kimeswenger, Stefan
AU - van Hoof, Peter A.M.
AU - Zijlstra, Albert A.
AU - Barría, Daniela
AU - Hajduk, Marcin
AU - Van de Steene, Griet C.
AU - Tafoya, Daniel
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
PY - 2022/11/1
Y1 - 2022/11/1
N2 - After becoming ionized, low-density astrophysical plasmas will begin a process of slow recombination. Models for this still have significant uncertainties. Recombination cannot normally be observed in isolation, because the ionization follows the evolutionary timescale of the ionizing source. Laboratory experiments are unable to reach the appropriate conditions because of the very long required timescales. The extended nebula around the very late helium pulse (VLTP) star V4334 Sgr provides a unique laboratory for this kind of study. The sudden loss of the ionizing UV radiation after the VLTP event has allowed the nebula to recombine free from other influences. More than 290 long-slit spectra taken with FORS1/2 at ESO’s Very Large Telescope between 2007 and 2022 are used to follow the time evolution of the lines of H, He, N, S, O, and Ar. Hydrogen and helium lines, representing most of the ionized mass, do not show significant changes. A small increase is seen in [N ii] (+2.8% yr−1; 2.7σ significance), while we see a decrease in [O iii] (−1.96% yr−1; 2.0σ significance). The [S ii] lines show a change of +3.0% yr−1 (1.6σ significance). The lines of [S iii] and of [Ar iii] show no significant changes. For [S iii], the measurement differs from the predicted decrease by 4.5σ. A possible explanation is that the fractions of S3+ and higher are larger than expected. Such an effect could provide a potential solution for the sulfur anomaly in planetary nebulae.
AB - After becoming ionized, low-density astrophysical plasmas will begin a process of slow recombination. Models for this still have significant uncertainties. Recombination cannot normally be observed in isolation, because the ionization follows the evolutionary timescale of the ionizing source. Laboratory experiments are unable to reach the appropriate conditions because of the very long required timescales. The extended nebula around the very late helium pulse (VLTP) star V4334 Sgr provides a unique laboratory for this kind of study. The sudden loss of the ionizing UV radiation after the VLTP event has allowed the nebula to recombine free from other influences. More than 290 long-slit spectra taken with FORS1/2 at ESO’s Very Large Telescope between 2007 and 2022 are used to follow the time evolution of the lines of H, He, N, S, O, and Ar. Hydrogen and helium lines, representing most of the ionized mass, do not show significant changes. A small increase is seen in [N ii] (+2.8% yr−1; 2.7σ significance), while we see a decrease in [O iii] (−1.96% yr−1; 2.0σ significance). The [S ii] lines show a change of +3.0% yr−1 (1.6σ significance). The lines of [S iii] and of [Ar iii] show no significant changes. For [S iii], the measurement differs from the predicted decrease by 4.5σ. A possible explanation is that the fractions of S3+ and higher are larger than expected. Such an effect could provide a potential solution for the sulfur anomaly in planetary nebulae.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85142195338
U2 - 10.3847/1538-4357/ac90c4
DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/ac90c4
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85142195338
SN - 0004-637X
VL - 939
JO - Astrophysical Journal
JF - Astrophysical Journal
IS - 2
M1 - 103
ER -