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Abundances and Gradients in M31 – A Chemical Study of Planetary Nebulae in the Substructures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 August 2017

Xuan Fang
Affiliation:
Laboratory for Space Research, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China email: fangx@hku.hk Department of Earth Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
Rubén García-Benito
Affiliation:
Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, Glorieta de la Astronomía s/n, 18008, Granada, Spain
Martín A. Guerrero
Affiliation:
Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, Glorieta de la Astronomía s/n, 18008, Granada, Spain
Xiaowei Liu
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Yong Zhang
Affiliation:
Laboratory for Space Research, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China email: fangx@hku.hk Department of Physics, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
Haibo Yuan
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
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Abstract

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We present deep optical spectroscopy of seven planetary nebulae (PNe) in the substructures of M31, three in the Northern Spur and four associated with the Giant Stream. The spectra were obtained with the OSIRIS spectrograph on the 10.4 m GTC. The detection of the [O iii] λ4363 auroral line in all PNe of our sample enables reliable abundance determinations. Our targets have low N/O (<0.5) and He/H ratios, indicating that they are probably Type II PNe. The PNe in our sample have rather homogeneous oxygen abundances, with an average value of 8.56±0.10. Based on the abundances as well as the spatial and kinematical information of our targets, we speculate that the Northern Spur and the Giant Stream might have the same origin. We raise a hypothesis that the dwarf satellite M32 might be responsible for these two substructures. New observations have recently been made to assess this hypothesis.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2017 

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