Planetary nebulae (PNe) are the ejected gas and dust shells of Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars, which represent the late life of low- and intermediate-mass stars (LIMS). With the advent of the APOGEE DR17 survey, there is a purpose in comparing Red Giants (RGs) and PNe abundances to disclose their similarities and differences since such a comparison has been rarely, and not recently, done in the Milky Way. While we expect similarities in most of the alpha-element distributions across the two populations, given their limited evolution in LIMS, differences in Fe and S abundances allow us to determine their depletion due to grain condensation in post-AGB phases. Differences in N and C between PNe and their progenitors set new limits to their production in the late stages of LIMS evolution. Finally, we use radial metallicity gradients from RGs and PNe and Gaia-calibrated distances to constrain galaxy evolution in the framework of the current chemical evolution models.
20/02/2024
Speaker: Letizia Stanghellini (NSF’s NOIRLab, Tucson)
Colloquium Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma - Aula Gratton Tuesday 20 FEBRUARY - 11:30 (CET)
The seminar will be also given remotely using Google Meet at the following link: meet.google.com/zev-pdvv-gku