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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

JWST observations of the planetary nebula NGC 6302 IV: PAH spectral characteristics, formation and evolution

  • Nicholas Clark1,2
  • Els Peeters1,2
  • Jan Cami1,2
  • Mikako Matsuura3
  • Alexander G G M Tielens4
  • Patrick J Kavanagh5
  • Michael J Barlow6
  • Joel Kastner7,8,9
  • Kathleen E Kraemer10
  • Hektor Monteiro3,11
  • Raghvendra Sahai12
  • G C Sloan13,14
20 more authors
  • N C Sterling15
  • Jeremy R Walsh16
  • L B F M Waters17,18
  • Nicholas J Wright19
  • Isabel Aleman20
  • Bruce Balick21
  • Jeronimo Bernard-Salas22,23
  • Charmi Bhatt1,2
  • Joris Blommaert24
  • Harriet L Dinerstein25
  • Naomi Hirano26
  • Olivia Jones27
  • Francisca Kemper28,29,30
  • Eric Lagadec31
  • Paula Moraga Baez1,2
  • Maryam Torki28
  • Peter A M van Hoof32
  • Kevin Volk13
  • Roger Wesson3,6,33
  • Albert Zijlstra34,35
35 affiliations
  1. 1University of Western Ontario Department of Physics and Astronomy, , London, Ontario ,
  2. 2Institute for Earth and Space Exploration, University of Western Ontario , London, Ontario ,
  3. 3Cardiff Hub for Astrophysics Research and Technology (CHART), School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University , The Parade, Cardiff CF24 3AA ,
  4. 4University of Maryland Department of Astronomy, ,
  5. 5Maynooth University Department of Physics, , Maynooth, County Kildare ,
  6. 6University College London Department of Physics and Astronomy, , Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT ,
  7. 7Center for Imaging Science, Rochester Institute of Technology , Rochester NY 14623 ,
  8. 8School of Physics and Astronomy, Rochester Institute of Technology , Rochester NY 14623 ,
  9. 9Laboratory for Multiwavelength Astrophysics, Rochester Institute of Technology , Rochester NY 14623 ,
  10. 10Institute for Scientific Research , Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 ,
  11. 11Instituto de Física e Química, Universidade Federal de Itajubá , Av. BPS 1303, 37500-903 Itajubá, MG ,
  12. 12Jet Propulsion Laboratory , 4800 Oak Grove Drive, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109 ,
  13. 13Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 ,
  14. 14University of North Carolina Department of Physics and Astronomy, , Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3255 ,
  15. 15University of West Georgia , 1601 Maple Street, Carrollton, GA 30118 ,
  16. 16European Southern Observatory , Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2, D-85748 Garching ,
  17. 17Radboud University Department of Astrophysics/IMAPP, , PO Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen ,
  18. 18SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research , Niels Bohrweg 4, 2333 CA Leiden ,
  19. 19Astrophysics Research Centre, Keele University , Newcastle-under-Lyme, ST5 5BG ,
  20. 20Laboratório Nacional de Astrofísica , Rua dos Estados Unidos 154, Bairro das Nações, Itajubá, MG 37504-365 ,
  21. 21University of Washington Department of Astronomy, , Seattle, WA 98195-1580 ,
  22. 22ACRI-ST, Centre dÉtudes et de Recherche de Grasse (CERGA) , 10 Av. Nicolas Copernic, 06130 Grasse ,
  23. 23INCLASS Common Laboratory , 10 Av. Nicolas Copernic, 06130 Grasse ,
  24. 24Vrije Universiteit Brussel Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Group, Department of Physics and Astrophysics, , Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels ,
  25. 25University of Texas at Austin Department of Astronomy, , Austin, TX 78712 ,
  26. 26Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics , 11F of Astronomy-Mathematics Building, AS/NTU, No.1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei 106319, Taiwan ,
  27. 27UK Astronomy Technology Centre , Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ ,
  28. 28Institut de Ciències de l’Espai (ICE, CSIC) , Can Magrans, s/n, E-08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona ,
  29. 29ICREA , Pg. Lluís Companys 23, E-08010 Barcelona ,
  30. 30Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC) , E-08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona ,
  31. 31Université Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur , CNRS, Lagrange, 96 Bd de l’Observatoire, 06300 Nice ,
  32. 32Royal Observatory of Belgium , Ringlaan 3, B-1180 Brussels ,
  33. 33Maynooth University Department of Physics, , Maynooth, Co. Kildare ,
  34. 34The University of Manchester Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics, and Astronomy, , Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL ,
  35. 35School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Macquarie University , Sydney, NSW 2109 ,
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Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and carbonaceous dust have been observed in Oxygen-rich planetary nebulae (PNe), yet their formation and evolution in these environments is an open question. We aim to study the formation and evolution of the PAHs in the O-rich PN NGC 6302 (the Butterfly Nebula), by characterizing the PAH emission throughout this object. We obtained JWST MIRI IFU spectroscopic observations of NGC 6302 pointed at its central source. From these, we extract four template spectra that are representative of the variation in PAH emission throughout NGC 6302. We detect the major PAH features at 6.2, 7.7, 8.6, 11.2, and 12.7 μm, and several minor PAH features. The template spectra vary in terms of their PAH feature widths, peak wavelengths, and relative intensities. The 11.2 μm PAH feature is class B, typical for PNe. The 6–9 μm PAH features are class A, which is less common for PNe. We estimate the PAH charge to be 75% cations on average, based on the 7.7/11.2 PAH feature ratio. The relative strengths of the 11–15 μm PAH features indicate a range of PAH edge structures. To ensure consistency in our observations and explain variable PAH feature widths, we propose a variation in the size of the PAHs throughout NGC 6302, and suggest variation in the shielding of these PAHs. The PAHs range from large and non-compact, to small and compact. We find that NGC 6302 formed PAHs in-situ in the current PN phase, likely from small hydrocarbons formed by the photodissociation of CO.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{clark2026jwst,
  title = {{JWST observations of the planetary nebula NGC 6302 IV: PAH spectral characteristics, formation and evolution}},
  author = {Nicholas Clark and Els Peeters and Jan Cami and Mikako Matsuura and Alexander G G M Tielens and Patrick J Kavanagh and Michael J Barlow and Joel Kastner and Kathleen E Kraemer and Hektor Monteiro and Raghvendra Sahai and G C Sloan and N C Sterling and Jeremy R Walsh and L B F M Waters and Nicholas J Wright and Isabel Aleman and Bruce Balick and Jeronimo Bernard-Salas and Charmi Bhatt and Joris Blommaert and Harriet L Dinerstein and Naomi Hirano and Olivia Jones and Francisca Kemper and Eric Lagadec and Paula Moraga Baez and Maryam Torki and Peter A M van Hoof and Kevin Volk and Roger Wesson and Albert Zijlstra},
  journal = {Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1093/mnras/stag1992},
  url = {https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stag1992/8965446},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - JWST observations of the planetary nebula NGC 6302 IV: PAH spectral characteristics, formation and evolution
AU  - Nicholas Clark
AU  - Els Peeters
AU  - Jan Cami
AU  - Mikako Matsuura
AU  - Alexander G G M Tielens
AU  - Patrick J Kavanagh
AU  - Michael J Barlow
AU  - Joel Kastner
AU  - Kathleen E Kraemer
AU  - Hektor Monteiro
AU  - Raghvendra Sahai
AU  - G C Sloan
AU  - N C Sterling
AU  - Jeremy R Walsh
AU  - L B F M Waters
AU  - Nicholas J Wright
AU  - Isabel Aleman
AU  - Bruce Balick
AU  - Jeronimo Bernard-Salas
AU  - Charmi Bhatt
AU  - Joris Blommaert
AU  - Harriet L Dinerstein
AU  - Naomi Hirano
AU  - Olivia Jones
AU  - Francisca Kemper
AU  - Eric Lagadec
AU  - Paula Moraga Baez
AU  - Maryam Torki
AU  - Peter A M van Hoof
AU  - Kevin Volk
AU  - Roger Wesson
AU  - Albert Zijlstra
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/21
JO  - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
DO  - 10.1093/mnras/stag1992
UR  - https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stag1992/8965446
AB  - Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and carbonaceous dust have been observed in Oxygen-rich planetary nebulae (PNe), yet their formation and evolution in these environments is an open question. We aim to study the formation and evolution of the PAHs in the O-rich PN NGC 6302 (the Butterfly Nebula), by characterizing the PAH emission throughout this object. We obtained JWST MIRI IFU spectroscopic observations of NGC 6302 pointed at its central source. From these, we extract four template spectra that are representative of the variation in PAH emission throughout NGC 6302. We detect the major PAH features at 6.2, 7.7, 8.6, 11.2, and 12.7 μm, and several minor PAH features. The template spectra vary in terms of their PAH feature widths, peak wavelengths, and relative intensities. The 11.2 μm PAH feature is class B, typical for PNe. The 6–9 μm PAH features are class A, which is less common for PNe. We estimate the PAH charge to be 75% cations on average, based on the 7.7/11.2 PAH feature ratio. The relative strengths of the 11–15 μm PAH features indicate a range of PAH edge structures. To ensure consistency in our observations and explain variable PAH feature widths, we propose a variation in the size of the PAHs throughout NGC 6302, and suggest variation in the shielding of these PAHs. The PAHs range from large and non-compact, to small and compact. We find that NGC 6302 formed PAHs in-situ in the current PN phase, likely from small hydrocarbons formed by the photodissociation of CO.
SN  - 0035-8711
SN  - 1365-2966
ER  -