| 1. |
- De Marco, O., et al.
(författare)
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The messy death of a multiple star system and the resulting planetary nebula as observed by JWST
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2397-3366. ; 6:12, s. 1421-1432
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Planetary nebulae—the ejected envelopes of red giant stars—provide us with a history of the last, mass-losing phases of 90% of stars initially more massive than the Sun. Here we analyse images of the planetary nebula NGC 3132 from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Early Release Observations. A structured, extended hydrogen halo surrounding an ionized central bubble is imprinted with spiral structures, probably shaped by a low-mass companion orbiting the central star at about 40–60 au. The images also reveal a mid-infrared excess at the central star, interpreted as a dusty disk, which is indicative of an interaction with another closer companion. Including the previously known A-type visual companion, the progenitor of the NGC 3132 planetary nebula must have been at least a stellar quartet. The JWST images allow us to generate a model of the illumination, ionization and hydrodynamics of the molecular halo, demonstrating the power of JWST to investigate complex stellar outflows. Furthermore, new measurements of the A-type visual companion allow us to derive the value for the mass of the progenitor of a central star with excellent precision: 2.86 ± 0.06 M⊙. These results serve as pathfinders for future JWST observations of planetary nebulae, providing unique insight into fundamental astrophysical processes including colliding winds and binary star interactions, with implications for supernovae and gravitational-wave systems.
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| 2. |
- Ueta, T., et al.
(författare)
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Herschel Planetary Nebula Survey (HerPlaNS)
- 2014
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Ingår i: Asymmetrical Planetary Nebulae VI conference, Proceedings of the conference held 4-8 November, 2013. ; , s. 106-
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The Herschel Planetary Nebula Survey (HerPlaNS) is one of the largest Open Time programs carried out by the Herschel Space Observatory, by which we simultaneously probe the dust and gas components of the circumstellar environments of evolved stars. HerPlaNS is part of a community-wide panchromatic (from X-ray to Radio) observational initiative to furnish substantial PN data resources that would allow us - PN astronomers - to tackle a multitude of issues in PN physics. In this contribution we will give a general overview of the survey and a glimpse of what the data can tell us using NGC 6781 as an example.
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| 3. |
- Ueta, T., et al.
(författare)
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Planetary Nebula dust haloes revealed by Herschel
- 2013
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Ingår i: Proceedings of Science. - Trieste, Italy : Sissa Medialab. - 1824-8039.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Herschel Planetary Nebula Survey (HerPlaNS) is a far-IR imaging and spectroscopic survey of planetary nebulae, performedwith the Herschel Space Observatory, aiming at (1) establishing the spatially-resolved far-IR characteristics of the target nebulae and (2) understanding the energetics and shaping history of the circumstellar nebulae. Below we briefly demonstrate the breadth and depth of the HerPlaNS data set using one of the targets, NGC6781, as an example, and explore expectations in the era of SPICA, the next-generation far-IR mission.
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| 4. |
- Ueta, T., et al.
(författare)
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The Herschel Planetary Nebula Survey (HerPlaNS) I. Data overview and analysis demonstration with NGC 6781
- 2014
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 565, s. A36-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. This is the first of a series of investigations into far-IR characteristics of 11 planetary nebulae (PNe) under the Herschel Space Observatory open time 1 program, Herschel Planetary Nebula Survey (HerPlaNS). Aims. Using the HerPlaNS data set, we look into the PN energetics and variations of the physical conditions within the target nebulae. In the present work, we provide an overview of the survey, data acquisition and processing, and resulting data products. Methods. We performed (1) PACS/SPIRE broadband imaging to determine the spatial distribution of the cold dust component in the target PNe and (2) PACS/SPIRE spectral-energy-distribution and line spectroscopy to determine the spatial distribution of the gas component in the target PNe. Results. For the case of NGC 6781, the broadband maps confirm the nearly pole-on barrel structure of the amorphous carbon-rich dust shell and the surrounding halo having temperatures of 26-40 K. The PACS/SPIRE multiposition spectra show spatial variations of far-.IR lines that reflect the physical stratification of the nebula. We demonstrate that spatially resolved far-IR line diagnostics yield the (T-e, n(e)) profiles, from which distributions of ionized, atomic, and molecular gases can be determined. Direct comparison of the dust and gas column mass maps constrained by the HerPlaNS data allows to construct an empirical gas-to-dust mass ratio map, which shows a range of ratios with the median of 195 +/- 110. The present analysis yields estimates of the total mass of the shell to be 0.86 M-circle dot, consisting of 0.54 M-circle dot of ionized gas, 0.12 M-circle dot of atomic gas, 0.2 M-circle dot of molecular gas, and 4 x 10(-3) M-circle dot of dust grains. These estimates' also suggest that the central star of about 1.5 M-circle dot initial mass is terminating its PN evolution onto the white dwarf cooling track. Conclusions. The HerPlaNS data provide various diagnostics for both the dust and gas components in a spatially resolved manner. In the forthcoming papers of the HerPlaNS series we will explore the HerPlaNS data set fully for the entire sample of 11 PNe.
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| 5. |
- Arrow, K. J., et al.
(författare)
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Should Governments Use a Declining Discount Rate in Project Analysis?
- 2014
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Ingår i: Review of Environmental Economics and Policy. - : University of Chicago Press. - 1750-6816 .- 1750-6824. ; 8:2, s. 145-163
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Should governments use a discount rate that declines over time when evaluating the future benefits and costs of public projects? The argument for using a declining discount rate (DDR) is simple: if the discount rates that will be applied in the future are uncertain but positively correlated, and if the analyst can assign probabilities to these discount rates, then the result will be a declining schedule of certainty-equivalent discount rates. There is a growing empirical literature that estimates models of long-term interest rates and uses them to forecast the DDR schedule. However, this literature has been criticized because it lacks a connection to the theory of project evaluation. In benefit-cost analysis, the net benefits of a project in year t (in consumption units) are discounted to the present at the rate at which society would trade consumption in year t for consumption in the present. With simplifying assumptions, this leads to the Ramsey discounting formula, which results in a declining certainty-equivalent discount rate if the rate of growth in consumption is uncertain and if shocks to consumption are correlated over time. We conclude that the arguments in favor of a DDR are compelling and thus merit serious consideration by regulatory agencies in the United States.
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