David J. Frew

The AAO/UKST SuperCOSMOS Hα survey

The UK Schmidt Telescope (UKST) of the Anglo-Australian Observatory completed a narrowband Ha plus [N II] 6548, 6584-A survey of the Southern Galactic Plane and Magellanic Clouds in late 2003. The survey, which was the last UKST wide-field photographic survey and the only one undertaken in a narrow-band, is now an online digital data product of the Wide-Field Astronomy Unit of the Royal Observatory Edinburgh (ROE). The survey utilized a high specification, monolithic Hα interference bandpass filter of exceptional quality. In conjunction with the fine-grained Tech-Pan film as a detector it has produced a survey with a powerful combination of area coverage (4000 square degrees), resolution (∼1 arcsec) and sensitivity (≤5 Rayleighs), reaching a depth for continuum point sources of R ≃ 20.5. The main survey consists of 233 individual fields on a grid of centres separated by 4° at declinations below +2° and covers a swathe approximately 20° wide about the Southern Galactic Plane. The original survey films were scanned by the SuperCOSMOS measuring machine at the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, to provide the online digital atlas called the SuperCOSMOS Ha Survey (SHS). We present the background of the survey, the key survey characteristics, details and examples of the data product, calibration process, comparison with other surveys and a brief description of its potential for scientific exploitation.

Planetary nebulae : observational properties, mimics and diagnostics

The total number of true, likely and possible planetary nebulae (PN) now known in the Milky Way is nearly 3000, double the number known a decade ago. The new discoveries are a legacy of the recent availability of wide field, narrowband imaging surveys, primarily in the light of H-alpha. In this paper, we summarise the various PN discovery techniques, and give an overview of the many types of objects which mimic PN and which appear as contaminants in both Galactic and extragalactic samples. Much improved discrimination of classical PN from their mimics is now possible based on the wide variety of high-quality multiwavelength data sets that are now available. We offer improved taxonomic and observational definitions for the PN phenomenon based on evaluation of these better diagnostic capabilities. However, we note that evidence is increasing that the PN phenomenon is heterogeneous, and PN are likely to be formed from multiple evolutionary scenarios. In particular, the relationships between some collimated symbiotic outflows and bipolar PN remain uncertain.

MASH-II: more planetary nebulae from the AAO/UKST Hα survey

We present a supplement to the Macquarie/AAO/Strasbourg Ha planetary nebulae (PNe) catalogue (MASH), which we denote MASH-II. The supplement consists of over 300 true, likely and possible new Galactic PNe found after re-examination of the entire AAO/UKST Ha survey of the Southern Galactic Plane in digital form. We have spectroscopically confirmed over 240 of these new candidates as bona fide PNe, and we include other high-quality candidates awaiting spectroscopic confirmation as possible PNe. These latest discoveries largely comprise two distinct groups: small, star like or moderately resolved PNe at one end and mostly large, extremely low surface brightness PNe at the other. Neither group were easy to discover from simple visual scrutiny of the original survey exposures as for MASH but were relatively straightforward to uncover from the digital images via application of semi-automated discovery techniques. We suspect the few PNe still hidden in the Ha survey will lie outside our search criteria or be difficult to find.

The VST Photometric Hα Survey of the Southern Galactic Plane and Bulge (VPHAS

The VST Photometric HSurvey of the Southern Galactic Plane and Bulge (VPHAS+) is surveying the southern Milky Way in u,g,r,i and Hat �1 arcsec angular resolution. Its footprint spans the Galactic latitude range 5 o < b < +5 o at all longitudes south of the celestial equator. Extensions around the Galactic Centre to Galactic latitudes ±10 ◦ bring in much of the Galactic Bulge. This ESO public sur- vey, begun on 28th December 2011, reaches down to �20th magnitude (10�) and will provide single-epoch digital optical photometry for �300 million stars. The observing strategy and data pipelining is described, and an appraisal of the segmented narrow- band Hfilter in use is presented. Using model atmospheres and library spectra, we compute main-sequence (u g), (g r), (r i) and (r H�) stellar colours in the Vega system. We report on a preliminary validation of the photometry using test data obtained from two pointings overlapping the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. An example of the (u g,g r) and (r H�,r i) diagrams for a full VPHAS+ survey field is given. Attention is drawn to the opportunities for studies of compact nebulae and nebular morphologies that arise from the image quality being achieved. The value of the u band as the means to identify planetary-nebula central stars is demonstrated by the discovery of the central star of NGC 2899 in survey data. Thanks to its excellent imaging performance, the VST/OmegaCam combination used by this survey is a per- fect vehicle for automated searches for reddened early-type stars, and will allow the discovery and analysis of compact binaries, white dwarfs and transient sources.

The Hα surface brightness–radius relation: a robust statistical distance indicator for planetary nebulae

Measuring the distances to Galactic planetary nebulae (PNe) has been an intractable problem for many decades. We have now established a robust optical statistical distance indicator, the Hα surface brightness–radius or SHα–r relation, which addresses this problem. We developed thisrelationfromacriticallyevaluatedsampleofprimarycalibratingPNe.Therobustnatureof the method results from our revised calibrating distances with significantly reduced systematic uncertainties, and the recent availability of high-quality data, including updated nebular diameters and integrated Hα fluxes. The SHα–r technique is simple in its application, requiring only an angular size, an integrated Hα flux, and the reddening to the PN. From these quantities, an intrinsic radius is calculated, which when combined with the angular size, yields the distance directly. Furthermore, we have found that optically thick PNe tend to populate the upper bound of the trend, while optically thin PNe fall along the lower boundary in the SHα–r plane. This enables sub-trends to be developed which offer even better precision in the determination of distances, as good as 18 per cent in the case of optically thin, high-excitation PNe. This is significantly better than any previous statistical indicator. We use this technique to create a catalogue of statistical distances for over 1100 Galactic PNe, the largest such compilation in the literature to date. Finally, in an appendix, we investigate both a set of transitional PNe and a range of PN mimics in the SHα–r plane, to demonstrate its use as a diagnostic tool. Interestingly, stellar ejecta around massive stars plot on a tight locus in SHα–r space with the potential to act as a separate distance indicator for these objects.

The Necklace : equatorial and polar outflows from the binary central star of the new planetary nebula IPHASX J194359.5+170901

IPHASXJ194359.5+170901 is a new high-excitation planetary nebula with remark- able characteristics. It consists of a knotty ring expanding at a speed of 28 kms 1 , and a fast collimated outflow in the form of faint lobes and caps along the direction perpendicular to the ring. The expansion speed of the polar caps is �100 kms 1 , and their kinematical age is twice as large as the age of the ring. Time-resolved photometry of the central star of IPHASXJ194359.5+170901 re- veals a sinusoidal modulation with a period of 1.16 days. This is interpreted as evi- dence for binarity of the central star, the brightness variations being related to the orbital motion of an irradiated companion. This is supported by the spectrum of the central star in the visible range, which appears to be dominated by emission from the irradiated zone, consisting of a warm (6000-7000 K) continuum, narrow C III, C IV, and N III emission lines, and broader lines from a flat H I Balmer sequence in emission. IPHASXJ194359.5+170901 helps to clarify the role of (close) binaries in the for- mation and shaping of planetary nebulae. The output of the common-envelope evolu- tion of the system is a strongly flattened circumstellar mass deposition, a feature that seems to be distinctive of this kind of binary system. Also, IPHASXJ194359.5+170901 is among the first post-CE PNe for which the existence of a high-velocity polar out- flow has been demonstrated. Its kinematical age might indicate that the polar outflow is formed before the common-envelope phase. This points to mass transfer onto the secondary as the origin, but alternative explanations are also considered.

The binary fraction of planetary nebula central stars-I. A high-precision, I-band excess search

We still do not know what causes aspherical planetary nebula (PN) morphologies. A plausible hypothesis is that they are due to the presence of a close stellar or substellar companion. So far, only ∼40 binary central stars of PN have been detected, almost all of them with such short periods that their binarity is revealed by photometric variability. Here we have endeavoured to discover binary central stars at any separation, thus determining the unbiased binary fraction of central stars of PN. This number, when compared to the binary fraction of the presumed parent population, can give a first handle on the origin of PN. By detecting the central stars in the I band we have searched for cool companions. We have found that 30 per cent of our sample have an I-band excess detected between 1 and a few σ , possibly denoting companions brighter than M3–4V and with separations smaller than ∼1000 au. By accounting for the undetectable companions, we determine a debiased binary fraction of 67–78 per cent for all companions at all separations. We compare this number to a main-sequence binary fraction of (50 ± 4) per cent determined for spectral types F6V–G2V, appropriate if the progenitors of today’s PN central star population are indeed the F6V–G2V stars. The error on our estimate cannot be constrained tightly, but we determine it to be between 10 and 30 per cent. We conclude that the central star binary fraction may be larger than expected from the putative parent population. However, this result is based on a sample of 27 bona fide central stars and should be considered preliminary. The success of the I-band method rests critically on high-precision photometry and a reasonably large sample. From a similar analysis, using the more sensitive J band of a subset of 11 central stars, the binary fraction is 54 per cent for companions brighter than ∼M5–6V and with separations smaller than about 900 au. Debiasing this number in the same way as was done for the I band we obtain a binary fraction of 100–107 per cent. The two numbers should be the same and the discrepancy is likely due to small-number statistics. Finally, we note how the previously derived short-period PN binary fraction of 15–20 per cent is far larger than expected based on the main-sequence binary fraction and period distribution. As a byproduct of our analysis we present an accurately vetted compilation of observed main-sequence star magnitudes, colours and masses, which can serve as a reference for future studies. We also present synthetic colours of hot stars as a function of temperature (20–170 kK) and gravity (log g = 6–8) for Solar and PG1159 compositions.

A Planetary Nebula around Nova V458 Vulpeculae Undergoing Flash Ionization

Nova V458 Vul erupted on 2007 August 8 and reached a visual magnitude of 8.1 a few days later. Ha images obtained 6 weeks before the outburst as part of the IPHAS Galactic plane survey reveal an 18th magnitude progenitor surrounded by an extended nebula. Subsequent images and spectroscopy of the nebula reveal an inner nebular knot increasing rapidly in brightness due to flash ionization by the nova event. We derive a distance of 13 kpc based on light travel time considerations, which is supported by two other distance estimation methods. The nebula has an ionized mass of 0.2 M-circle dot and a low expansion velocity: this rules it out as ejecta from a, previous nova eruption, and is consistent with it being a similar to 14,000 year old planetary nebula, probably the product of a prior common envelope (CE) phase of evolution of the binary system. The large derived distance means that the mass of the erupting WD component of the binary is high. We identify two possible evolutionary scenarios, in at least one of which the system is massive enough to produce a Type Ia supernova upon merging.

Searching for Faint Planetary Nebulae Using the Digital Sky Survey

Recent Hα surveys such as SHS and IPHAS have improved the completeness of the Galactic planetary nebula (PN) census. We now know of ∼3000 PNe in the Galaxy, but this is far short of most estimates, typically ∼25 000 or more for the total population. The size of the Galactic PN population is required to derive an accurate estimate of the chemical enrichment rates of nitrogen, carbon, and helium. In addition, a high PN count (>20 000) is strong evidence that most main-sequence stars of mass 1-8 M⊙ will go through a PN phase, while a low count (<10 000) argues that special conditions (e.g. close binary interactions) are required to form a PN. We describe a technique for finding hundreds more PNe using the existing data collections of the digital sky surveys, thereby improving the census of Galactic PNe.

A catalogue of integrated Hα fluxes for 1258 Galactic planetary nebulae

We present a catalogue of new integrated H-alpha fluxes for 1258 Galactic planetary nebulae (PNe), with the majority, totalling 1234, measured from the Southern H-Alpha Sky Survey Atlas (SHASSA) and/or the Virginia Tech Spectral-line Survey (VTSS). Aperture photometry on the continuum-subtracted digital images was performed to extract H-alpha + [NII] fluxes in the case of SHASSA, and H-alpha fluxes from VTSS. The [NII] contribution was then deconvolved from the SHASSA flux using spectrophotometric data taken from the literature or derived by us. Comparison with previous work shows that the flux scale presented here has no significant zero-point error. Our catalogue is the largest compilation of homogeneously derived PN fluxes in any waveband yet measured, and will be an important legacy and fresh benchmark for the community. Amongst its many applications, it can be used to determine statistical distances for these PNe, determine new absolute magnitudes for delineating the faint end of the PN luminosity function, provide baseline data for photoionization and hydrodynamical modelling, and allow better estimates of Zanstra temperatures for PN central stars with accurate optical photometry. We also provide total H-alpha fluxes for another 75 objects which were formerly classified as PNe, as well as independent reddening determinations for ~270 PNe, derived from a comparison of our H-alpha data with the best literature H-beta fluxes. In an appendix, we list corrected H-alpha fluxes for 49 PNe taken from the literature, including 24 PNe not detected on SHASSA or VTSS, re-calibrated to a common zero-point.