A Search for Correlations Between Binary Stars and Carbon Chemistry in Planetary Nebulae

Faculty Sponsor

Todd Hillwig

College

Arts and Sciences

Department/Program

Physics and Astronomy

Presentation Type

Poster Presentation

Symposium Date

Summer 7-24-2024

Abstract

Planetary nebulae are one of the last stages of stellar evolution for low-mass stars, those that have a mass of less than about eight times the mass of the Sun. As the star ejects its outer layers at the end of its life, the high temperature of the remaining core, what we call the central star, can ionize the gaseous ejected layers and make them glow. Many complex carbon-based and oxygen-based molecules can form in these ejected layers, and their presence can be detected through spectroscopy. Also detected in some planetary nebulae are binary central stars, where another object is in orbit with the central star of the planetary nebula. We gathered previously published data about binary planetary nebulae, as well as previously published data about planetary nebulae with detection and measurements of carbon and oxygen. We are looking for correlations between pieces of data such as the amount of carbon and oxygen, the shape, whether the planetary nebula is a binary, and the masses of the two stars for these systems, and how they compare in the context of the overall sample.

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