Central Stars of Planetary Nebulae in Galactic Open Clusters: Providing additional data for the White Dwarf Initial-to-Final-Mass Relation

TL;DR

This paper investigates the central star of a planetary nebula in a galactic open cluster to improve the white dwarf initial-to-final mass relation, using precise cluster distances and HST data.

Contribution

It provides new data on a planetary nebula in an open cluster, aiding the refinement of the white dwarf initial-to-final mass relation.

Findings

Identification of the CSPN in the open cluster

Enhanced data for the white dwarf initial-to-final mass relation

Implications for stellar evolution and chemical enrichment

Abstract

Accurate (<10%) distances of Galactic star clusters allow precise estimation of the physical parameters of any physically associated Planetary Nebula (PN) and also that of its central star (CSPN) and its progenitor. The progenitor's mass can be related to the PN's chemical characteristics and furthermore, provides additional data for the widely used white dwarf (WD) initial-to-final mass relation (IFMR) that is crucial for tracing the development of both carbon and nitrogen in entire galaxies. To date there is only one PN (PHR1315- 6555) confirmed to be physically associated with a Galactic open cluster (ESO 96 -SC04) that has a turn-off mass $\sim$2 M$_{\odot}$. Our deep HST photometry was used for the search of the CSPN of this currently unique PN. In this work, we present our results.