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The Planetary Nebula Luminosity Function: Pieces of the Puzzle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2013

R. Ciardullo
R. Ciardullo
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. Email: rbc@astro.psu.edu
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Abstract

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Extragalactic surveys in the emission line of [O iii] λ5007 have provided us with the absolute line strengths of large, homogeneous sets of planetary nebulae. These data have been used to address a host of problems, from the measurement of the extragalactic distance scale, to the study of stellar populations. I review our current understanding of the [O iii] planetary nebula luminosity function (PNLF), and discuss some of the physical processes that effect its structure. I also describe the features of the Hα PNLF, a function that, upon first glance, looks similar to the [O iii] PNLF, but which includes a very different set of objects. Finally, I discuss recent measurements of α, the number of PNe found in a stellar population, normalized to that population's bolometric luminosity. I show that, contrary to expectations, the values of α found in actively star-forming spirals are essentially the same as those measured in late-type elliptical and lenticular systems. I discuss how this result sheds light on the physics of the planetary nebula phenomenon.

Keywords

galaxies: distancesplanetary nebulae: generalgalaxies: stellar contentstars: blue stragglers
Type
Research Article
Information
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia , Volume 27 , Issue 2 , 2010 , pp. 149 - 155
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of Australia 2010

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