The Survival of Planetary Nebulae in the Intracluster Medium

E. Villaver1 and L. Stanghellini2
1StScI, Baltimore, MD, USA
2NOAO, Tucson, AZ, USA


Tidal disruption in clusters of galaxies, due to galaxy-to-galaxy interactions or to the cluster core potential, produce a diffuse intracluster (IC) population. Individual members of the observed IC population include red giants, Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars, Planetary Nebulae (PNe), and Type Ia Supernovae. These stars evolve under the extreme conditions imposed by the IC medium, that is, a high systemic velocity through a very hot and rarefied medium. The evolution of the AGB and PN gaseous envelopes must be affected by this environment. We present simulations of the evolution of an AGB star and PN under the conditions of the IC medium. We confirm the survival of PNe and AGB circumstellar envelopes in such an extreme environment, and examine the effects on the PNe shells. Ultimately we aim to test if what we know about the resolved population of PNe in our Galaxy and nearby galaxies can be applied to PNe in the IC medium.