Symmetric and asymmetric planetary nebulae and the time variation of the radial abundance gradients

Planetary nebulae (PN) are excellent laboratories to study the chemical evolution of their host galaxies, especially concerning the radial abundance gradients and their time and spatial variations. Current chemical evolution models predict either some steepening or flattening of the abundance gradients with time, and PN can be useful in order to provide observational constraints on this issue. It is generally believed that asymmetrical nebulae, especially bipolars, are formed by younger, more massive progenitor stars, while symmetrical nebulae, such as the round and elliptical objects, are formed by older, less massive stars. As a consequence, if the abundance gradients change with time, some differences are expected between the gradients measured in symmetrical and asymmetrical nebulae. We have considered a large sample of well-studied galactic PN for which accurate abundances of O, S, Ne, and Ar are known, and for which a reliable morphological classification can be made. Average abundances and radial gradients of the ratios O/H, S/H, Ne/H and Ar/H were then determined for the main morphological classes, comprising B, E, R, and P nebulae. It is found that the average abundances of the younger objects are larger than those of the older nebulae, as expected on chemical evolution grounds, but the derived gradients are essentially the same within the uncertainties. It can then be concluded that the radial abundance gradients have not changed appreciably since the older progenitor stars were born, approximately 4 to 5 Gyr ago.FAPESPCNP