Masses of the Planetary-Nebula Central Stars in the Galactic Globular-Cluster System from HST Imaging and Spectroscopy

Abstract

The globular cluster (GC) system of our Galaxy contains four planetary nebulae (PNe): K 648 (or Ps 1) in M15, IRAS 18333-2357 in M22, JaFu 1 in Pal 6, and JaFu 2 in NGC 6441. Because single-star evolution at the low stellar mass of present-epoch GCs was considered incapable of producing visible PNe, their origin presented a puzzle. We imaged the PN JaFu 1 with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to obtain photometry of its central star (CS) and high-resolution morphological information. We imaged IRAS 18333-2357 with better depth and resolution, and we analyzed its archival HST spectra to constrain its CS temperature and luminosity. All PNe in Galactic GCs now have high-quality HST data, allowing us to improve CS mass estimates. We find reasonably consistent masses between 0.53 and 0.58 Msun for all four objects, though estimates vary when adopting different stellar evolutionary calculations. The CS mass of IRAS 18333-2357, though, depends strongly on its temperature, which remains elusive due to reddening uncertainties. For all four objects, we consider their CS and nebular masses, their morphologies, and other incongruities to assess the likelihood that these objects formed from binary stars. Although generally limited by uncertainties (~0.02 Msun) in post-AGB tracks and core mass vs. luminosity relations, the high-mass CS in K 648 indicates a binary origin. The CS of JaFu 1 exhibits compact bright [O III] and Halpha emission, like EGB 6, suggesting a binary companion or disk. Evidence is weaker for a binary origin of JaFu 2.