Comprehensive study of the Galactic Planetary Nebula NGC 2792

Abstract

This paper describes integral field unit (IFU) spectroscopic observations of the Galactic planetary nebula (PN) NGC 2792. The physical conditions, chemical composition, and kinematic properties are discussed and found to be in good agreement with prior long-slit-based investigations. The intensity of the He II line indicates that the nebula is of high excitation class. In addition, we find that the nebula is optically thin, belongs to Peimbert type IIa, expanding at a mean velocity of 20.2 km/s and travelling radially at a mean velocity of 12.7±8 km/s. To describe the morphology and ionisation structure of NGC 2792, a series of emission-line maps extracted from the data cubes was constructed, revealing an overall elliptical shape with three internal low ionisation structures (LISs) 'knots'. The three knots, which were detected for the first time, are located on the nebula's rim and clearly appear in the low ionisation maps of [O II], [N II], and [S II] lines. We find no significant variations between the physical and chemical characteristics of these knots and the nebula as a whole. The astronomic data provided by Gaia space mission reveals that the nebula is a member of the Galactic thin disc population and that it interacts with its ambient ISM.