Issue |
A&A
Volume 467, Number 2, May IV 2007
|
|
---|---|---|
Page(s) | L29 - L32 | |
Section | Letters | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20077250 | |
Published online | 11 April 2007 |
Letter to the Editor
White dwarf masses derived from planetary nebula modelling*
1
Centrum Astronomii UMK, ul. Gagarina 11, 87-100 Torun, Poland e-mail: Krzysztof.Gesicki@astri.uni.torun.pl
2
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, PO Box 88, Manchester M60 1QD, UK e-mail: a.zijlstra@manchester.ac.uk
Received:
7
February
2007
Accepted:
15
March
2007
Aims.We compare the mass distribution of central stars of planetary nebulae (CSPNe) with those of their progeny, white dwarfs (WD).
Methods.We use a dynamical method to measure masses with an uncertainty of 0.02 .
Results.The CSPN mass distribution is sharply peaked at . The WD distribution peaks at lower masses (
) and shows a much
broader range of masses. Some of the difference can be explained if the
early post-AGB evolution is faster than predicted by the Blöcker tracks.
Between 30 and 50 per cent of WD may avoid the PN phase because they have
too low a mass. However, the discrepancy cannot be fully resolved and WD mass distributions may have been broadened by observational or model uncertainties.
Key words: planetary nebulae: general / stars: evolution / stars: white dwarfs
© ESO, 2007
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