Spectroscopy of two PN candidates in IC10

TL;DR

This study provides spectroscopic confirmation of planetary nebulae in IC10, refines their classification criteria, and estimates the galaxy's distance using PNe as standard candles.

Contribution

It introduces new diagnostic criteria for distinguishing PNe from HII regions and confirms the nature of specific PN candidates in IC10.

Findings

PN7 is a compact HII region, not a PN.

The PNLF cutoff aligns with standard values after reclassification.

IC10's distance is estimated at approximately 725 kpc.

Abstract

We present the results of the first spectroscopic observations of two planetary nebula (PN) candidates in the Local Group dwarf irregular galaxy IC10. Using several spectral classification diagrams we show that the brightest PN candidate (PN7) is not a PN, but rather a compact HII region consisting of two components with low electron number densities. After the rejection of this PN candidate, the IC10 planetary nebula luminosity function cutoff becomes very close to the standard value. With the compiled spectroscopic data for a large number of extragalactic PNe, we analyse a series of diagnostic diagrams to generate quantitative criteria for separating PNe from unresolved HII regions. We show that, with the help of the diagnostic diagrams and the derived set of criteria, PNe can be distinguished from HII regions with an efficiency of ~99.6%. With the obtained spectroscopic data we confirm that another, 1.7 mag fainter PN candidate (PN9) is a genuine PN. We argue that, based on all currently available PNe data, IC10 is located at a distance 725+63-33 kpc (distance modulus (m-M) = 24.30+0.18-0.10).