Hostname: page-component-7b7567c8c-lpg2g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-15T10:37:21.760Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Planetary Nebula Luminosity Function and its Issues

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2016

Robin Ciardullo
Robin Ciardullo*
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Penn State University 525 Davey Lab, University Park, PA email: rbc@astro.psu.edu
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the 'Save PDF' action button.

The bright-end cutoff of the [O III] λ5007 planetary nebula luminosity function (PNLF) is insensitive to population age and metallicity, making it an excellent extragalactic standard candle. We review our knowledge of the function and discuss the challenges related to modeling it. We show that, while there has been a great deal of progress in understanding the nuances of its shape, there is still no solid theory which explains the luminosity of the PNLF cutoff in old stellar populations. This is an extremely serious problem, as it affects a myriad of astrophysical issues, from the determination of the stellar masses of galaxies to our understanding of alternative channels of stellar evolution.

Keywords

planetary nebulae: generalgalaxies: distances and redshiftsstars: AGB and post-AGB

References

Badenes, C., Maoz, D., & Ciardullo, R. 2015, ApJ (Letters), 804, L25 Google Scholar
Bruzual, G. 2007, in Vallenari, A. et al. (eds.), ASP Conf. Ser. 374, From Stars to Galaxies: Building the Pieces to Build Up the Universe (San Francisco: ASP), p. 303 Google Scholar
Bruzual, G. & Charlot, S. 2003, MNRAS, 344, 1000 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cantiello, M., Raimondo, G., Brocato, E., & Capaccioli, M. 2003, AJ, 125, 2783 Google Scholar
Carrera, R., Aparicio, A., Martínez-Delgado, D., & Alonso-García, J. 2002, AJ, 123, 3199 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cerviño, M., Luridiana, V., & Jamet, L. 2008, A&A, 491, 693 Google Scholar
Ciardullo, R. 2013, in de Grijs, R. (ed.), IAU Symp. 289, Advancing the Physics of Cosmic Distances (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), p. 247 Google Scholar
Ciardullo, R., Jacoby, G. H., Ford, H. C., & Neill, J. D. 1989, ApJ, 339, 53 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ciardullo, R., Jacoby, G. H., & Ford, H. C. 1989, ApJ, 344, 715 Google Scholar
Ciardullo, R., Feldmeier, J. J., Jacoby, G. H., et al. 2002, ApJ, 577, 31 Google Scholar
Ciardullo, R., Durrell, P. R., Laychak, M. B., et al. 2004, ApJ, 614, 167 Google Scholar
Ciardullo, R., Sigurdsson, S., Feldmeier, J. J., & Jacoby, G. H. 2005, ApJ, 629, 499 Google Scholar
Conroy, C. 2013, ARA&A, 51, 393 Google Scholar
Conroy, C. & Gunn, J. E. 2010, ApJ, 712, 833 Google Scholar
Dopita, M. A., Jacoby, G. H., & Vassiliadis, E. 1992, ApJ, 389, 27 Google Scholar
Feldmeier, J. J., Ciardullo, R., & Jacoby, G. H. 1997, ApJ, 479, 231 Google Scholar
Ferrarese, L., Mould, J. R., Kennicutt, R. C. Jr., et al. 2000, ApJ, 529, 745 Google Scholar
Ford, H. C. 1983, in Flower, D. R. (ed.), IAU Symp. 103, Planetary Nebulae (Dordrecht: Reidel), p. 443 Google Scholar
Freedman, W. L., Madore, B. F., Gibson, B. K., et al. 2001, ApJ, 553, 47 Google Scholar
Henize, K. G. & Westerlund, B. E. 1963, ApJ, 137, 747 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herrmann, K. A. & Ciardullo, R. 2009, ApJ, 703, 894 Google Scholar
Hui, X., Ford, H. C., Ciardullo, R., & Jacoby, G. H. 1993, ApJ, 414, 463 Google Scholar
Jacoby, G. H., Ciardullo, R., & Ford, H. C. 1990, ApJ, 356, 332 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacoby, G. H., Ciardullo, R., & Walker, A. R. 1990, ApJ, 365, 471 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacoby, G. H. & Ciardullo, R. 1999, ApJ, 515, 169 Google Scholar
Kalirai, J. S., Hansen, B. M. S., Kelson, D. D., et al. 2008, ApJ, 676, 594 Google Scholar
Kovacevic, A. V., Parker, Q. A., Jacoby, G. H., et al. 2011, MNRAS, 414, 860 Google Scholar
Kwitter, K. B., Lehman, E. M. M., Balick, B., & Henry, R. B. C. 2012, ApJ, 753, 12 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Longhetti, M. & Saracco, P. 2009, MNRAS 394 774, Google Scholar
Longobardi, A., Arnaboldi, M., Gerhard, O., et al. 2013, A&A, 558, A42 Google Scholar
Maraston, C. 2005, MNRAS, 362, 799 Google Scholar
McMillan, R., Ciardullo, R., & Jacoby, G. H. 1993, ApJ, 416, 62 Google Scholar
Méndez, R. H., Riffeser, A., Kudritzki, R.-P., et al. 2001, ApJ, 563, 135 Google Scholar
Méndez, R. H., Teodorescu, A. M., Schönberner, D., Jacob, R., & Steffen, M. 2008, ApJ, 681, 325 Google Scholar
Merrett, H. R., Merrifield, M. R., Douglas, N. G., et al. 2006 MNRAS, 369, 120 Google Scholar
Renzini, A., & Buzzoni, A. 1986, in Chiosi, C. & Renzini, A. (eds.), Spectral Evolution of Galaxies (Dordrecht: Reidel), p. 195 Google Scholar
Schönberner, D., Jacob, R., Sandin, C., & Steffen, M. 2010, A&A, 523, A86 Google Scholar
Teodorescu, A. M., Méndez, R. H., Bernardi, F., et al. 2010, ApJ, 721, 369 Google Scholar
Vassiliadis, E. & Wood, P. R. 1994, ApJS, 92, 125 CrossRefGoogle Scholar