Far-infrared imaging of post-AGB stars and (proto)-planetary nebulae with the AKARI Far-Infrared Surveyor

Abstract

By tracing the distribution of cool dust in the extended envelopes of post-AGB stars and (proto)-planetary nebulae ((P)PNe) we aim to recover, or constrain, the mass loss history experienced by these stars in their recent past. The Far-Infrared Surveyor (FIS) instrument on board the AKARI satellite was used to obtain far-infrared maps for a selected sample of post-AGB stars and (P)PNe. We derived flux densities (aperture photometry) for 13 post-AGB stars and (P)PNe at four far-infrared wavelengths (60, 90, 140, and 160 um). Radial (azimuthally averaged) profiles are used to investigate the presence of extended emission from cool dust. No (detached) extended emission is detected for any target in our sample at levels significant with respect to background and cirrus emission. Only IRAS 21046+4739 reveals tentative excess emission between 30 and 130". Estimates of the total dust and gas mass from the obtained maps indicate that the envelope masses of these stars should be large in order to be detected with the AKARI FIS. Imaging with higher sensitivity and higher spatial resolution is needed to detect and resolve, if present, any cool compact or extended emission associated with these evolved stars.

accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal (16 pages, 3 figures and 4 tables)

References in corpus (4)

• MESS (Mass-loss of Evolved StarS), a Herschel Key Program
• An evolutionary catalogue of Galactic post-AGB and related objects
• Spitzer/MIPS Imaging of NGC 650: Probing the History of Mass Loss on the Asymptotic Giant Branch
• A Spitzer Study of the Mass Loss Histories of Three Bipolar Pre-Planetary Nebulae

Cited by in corpus (10)

• Computing the dust distribution in the bowshock of a fast moving, evolved star
• The Herschel Planetary Nebula Survey (HerPlaNS) I. Data Overview and Analysis Demonstration with NGC 6781
• Dust around R Coronae Borealis stars: I. Spitzer/IRS observations
• Circumstellar envelope manifestations in the optical spectra of evolved stars
• The Coordinated Radio and Infrared Survey for High-mass Star Formation. IV: A new radio selected sample of compact Galactic Planetary Nebulae
• Multipolar Planetary Nebulae: Not as Geometrically Diversified as Thought
• Physical properties of the very young PN Hen3-1357 (Stingray Nebula) based on multiwavelength observations
• Surface Brightness Correction for Compact Extended Sources Observed by the AKARI Far-Infrared Surveyor (FIS) in the Slow-Scan Mode
• VISIR-VLT high resolution study of the extended emission of four obscured post-AGB candidates
• AKARI Mission Program: Excavating Mass Loss History in Extended Dust Shells of Evolved Stars (MLHES) I. Far-IR Photometry