A Survey of 3.3 Micron PAH Emission in Planetary Nebulae

TL;DR

This pilot survey used FLITECAM on SOFIA to detect 3.3 micron PAH emission in planetary nebulae, revealing emission in over half of the observed objects and expanding understanding of PAH presence.

Contribution

First ground-based spectroscopic survey of 3.3 micron PAH emission in planetary nebulae using FLITECAM, demonstrating detection capabilities and thresholds.

Findings

PAH emission detected in 11 of 20 targets

Successful use of FLITECAM for airborne infrared spectroscopy

Expanded data on PAH presence in planetary nebulae

Abstract

Results are presented from a pilot survey of 3.3 micron PAH emission from planetary nebulae using FLITECAM, an instrument intended for airborne astronomy with SOFIA. The observations were made during ground-based commissioning of FLITECAM's spectroscopic mode at the 3-m Shane telescope at Lick Observatory. Direct-ruled KRS-5 grisms were used to give a resolving power (R)~1,700. Targets were selected from IRAS, KAO and ISO sources with previously observed PAH emission at longer wavelengths. AGB stars and PN with C/O ratios < 1 were also added to the target list in order to test PAH detection thresholds. In all, 20 objects were observed. PAH emission was detected in 11 out of 20 observed targets.