International Ultraviolet Explorer Satellite Observations of Seven High-Excitation Planetary Nebulae

Abstract

Observations of seven high-excitation planetary nebulae secured with the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite were combined with extensive ground-based data to obtain electron densities, gas kinetic temperatures, and ionic concentrations. We then employed a network of theoretical model nebulae to estimate the factors by which observed ionic concentrations must be multiplied to obtain elemental abundances. Comparison with a large sample of nebulae for which extensive ground-based observations have been obtained shows nitrogen to be markedly enhanced in some of these objects. Possibly most, if not all, high-excitation nebulae evolve from stars that have higher masses than progenitors of nebulae of low-to-moderate excitation.