Investigating spatial variation of the physical and chemical conditions of NGC 6778

TL;DR

This study uses spatially resolved imaging to analyze the physical and chemical variations within the planetary nebula NGC 6778, aiming to understand abundance discrepancies linked to binary central stars.

Contribution

It provides the first spatially resolved abundance analysis of NGC 6778 using VLT VIMOS-IFU data, highlighting spatial variations and methodological limitations.

Findings

Detected spatial variations in chemical abundances.

Identified potential limitations in using emission line imaging.

Suggested presence of a metal-rich component in the nebula.

Abstract

A number of planetary nebulae show binary central stars and significant abundance discrepancies between values estimated from colisionally excited lines when compared to the same abundances estimated from recombination lines. One approach to investigate this yet unsolved problem is using spatially resolved images of emission lines in an attempt to detect a possibly distinct metal rich component in the nebula. In this work we present results of spatially resolved bundance analysis of NGC 6778 based on data gathered from VLT VIMOS-IFU. We discuss the spatial variations found as well as possible limitations of the method in answering questions about abundance variations.