| Description |
We propose to undertake an ambitious Herschel large survey of planetary nebulae (PNs), mustering the full strengths of Herschel.s broadband mapping, spectral mapping, and spatio-spectroscopic capabilities. Our proposed PN survey will exploit Herschel.s unprecedented spatial-resolving power in the far-IR wavelengths to its fullest potential. We will perform (1) deep PACS/SPIRE broadband mapping to account for the coldest dust component of the nebulae in the target PNs and determine the spatial distribution of the dusty PN haloes, (2) exhaustive PACS/SPIRE line mapping in far-IR fine-structure and CO transition lines in two representative PNs to diagnose the energetics of the nebulae as a function of location in the nebulae, and (3) PACS/SPIRE spectral-energy-distribution spectroscopy at several positions in the target PNs to understand variations in the physical conditions as a function of location in the nebulae. This PN survey is distinguished from the existing MESS KPGT program by the extra dimension added by spectral mapping and spatio-spectroscopy that permit simultaneous probing of the gas and dust component in the target PNs. Through these investigations, we will consider the energetics of the entire gas-dust system as a function of location in the nebulae. Herschel will allow us to take this novel approach which has rarely been taken previously. The proposed Herschel survey will be conducted in collaboration with the recently-approved Chandra X-ray Observatory Large Project to furnish substantial PN data resources that would allow us - a community of PN astronomers - to tackle a multitude of unanswered issues in PN physics, from the shaping mechanisms of the nebulae to the energetics of the multi-phased gas-dust system surrounding the central white dwarf. The proposed Herschel survey and the approved Chandra survey, combined with the community assets from optical to mid-IR, will provide an extremely valuable and comprehensive compilation of PN resource that carries a significant Legacy value. |
