Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Seeing Through A Cloudy Glass: Putting Limits On Planetary Nebulae Abundances Using Photoionization Modeling., Peter R. Sullivan, Ravi Sankrit

STAR Program Research Presentations

Planetary nebulae (PNe) form around low to intermediate mass stars transitioning from the giant branch to white dwarf phase. The outer layer of the star is ejected during the transition and this gas, ionized by the central star, emits a line-spectrum. This spectrum traces the chemical abundances that were characteristic of the interstellar medium in which the star formed (e.g. oxygen) as well as of the elements created by these progenitor stars (e.g. nitrogen) aiding our understanding of chemical evolution of galaxies. In this project, we use modeling of the emission lines of PNe to determine the accuracy of direct …