| An on-going problem in astrophysics involves the large and varying disagreement between abundances measurements made in planetary nebulae (PNe), determined from the strengths of emission lines arising from the same source ion, but excited by differing mechanisms (recombination and collisional excitation) in planetary nebulae (PNe).; We investigate the extent of this problem in IC 418, a PN chosen for its great surface brightness and perceived visually uncomplicated geometry, through the use of high resolution (R ≈ 30000 = 10 km sec−1 at 6500Å) echelle emission spectroscopy in the optical regime (3500–9850Å). These observations allow us to construct the most detailed list of atomic emission lines ever compiled for IC 418, and among the most detailed from among all PNe. Ionic abundances are calculated from the fluxes of numerous weak (1 × 10−5 Hβ) atomic emission lines from the ions of C,N,O, and Ne, using the most recent and accurate atomic transition information presently available. The high resolution of these spectra provides well-defined line profiles, which, coupled with the perceived simplicity of the object's expansion velocity distribution, allows us to better determine where in the nebula lines are formed, and where the ions that produce them are concentrated. Evidence for “non-conventional” line excitation mechanisms, such as continuum fluorescence from the ground state or enhanced dielectronic recombination, is sought in the profile morphologies and relative line strengths. Non-conventional excitation processes may influence the strengths of lines enough to significantly alter abundances calculated from them.; Our calculations show that recombination line-derived abundances exceed those derived from collisionally excited lines, for those ions for which we observed lines of both types: O+, O+2, and Ne +2 by real and varying amounts. We find that both continuum fluorescence and dielectronic recombination excites numerous lines in IC 418, but that there is no evidence in our data that either process is responsible for the observed overabundances in all recombination lines as opposed to their collisionally excited counterparts. The calculated levels of temperature fluctuations in the zones in which these ion reside are dubious, and significantly exceed model predicted values. In summary, no satisfactory, single universally applicable answer to the abundance discrepancy problem shown to exist by us in IC 418, is revealed by our observations.; We developed several new techniques to analyze these data. Of particular interest is EMILI (Emission Line Identifier), a public-domain program that utilizes a comprehensive atomic transition list and a set of simple tests and criteria, to quickly provide its user with a list of rank ordered IDs for unidentified emission lines found in deep, high resolution spectra. Presented here are the results of applying EMILI to the identification of weak emission lines in the spectra of IC 418 and other PNe. |
