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 The abundance discrepancy - recombination line versus forbidden line abundances for a northern sample of galactic planetary nebulaeWe present deep optical spectra of 23 galactic planetary nebulae, whichare analysed in conjunction with archival infrared and ultravioletspectra. We derive nebular electron temperatures based on standardcollisionally excited line (CEL) diagnostics as well as the hydrogenBalmer jump and find that, as expected, the Balmer jump almost alwaysyields a lower temperature than the [OIII] nebular-to-auroral lineratio. We also make use of the weak temperature dependence of helium andOII recombination line ratios to further investigate the temperaturestructure of the sample nebulae. We find that, in almost every case, thederived temperatures follow the relation , which is the relationpredicted by two-component nebular models in which one component is coldand hydrogen-deficient. Te(OII) may be as low as a fewhundred Kelvin, in line with the low temperatures found for thehydrogen-deficient knots of Abell 30 by Wesson, Liu and Barlow.Elemental abundances are derived for the sample nebulae from both CELsand optical recombination lines (ORLs). ORL abundances are higher thanCEL abundances in every case, by factors ranging from 1.5 to 12. Fiveobjects with O2+ abundance discrepancy factors greater than 5are found. DdDm 1 and Vy 2-2 are both found to have a very largeabundance discrepancy factor of 11.8.We consider the possible explanations for the observed discrepancies.From the observed differences between Te(OIII) andTe(BJ), we find that temperature fluctuations cannot resolvethe abundance discrepancies in 22 of the 23 sample nebulae, implyingsome additional mechanism for enhancing ORL emission. In the oneambiguous case, the good agreement between abundances derived fromtemperature-insensitive infrared lines and temperature-sensitive opticallines also points away from temperature fluctuations being present. Theobserved recombination line temperatures, the large abundancediscrepancies and the generally good agreement between infrared andoptical CEL abundances all suggest instead the existence of a coldhydrogen-deficient component within the normal' nebular gas. The originof this component is as yet unknown. The Chemical Composition of Galactic Planetary Nebulae with Regard to Inhomogeneity in the Gas Density in Their EnvelopesThe results of a study of the chemical compositions of Galacticplanetary nebulae taking into account two types of inhomogeneity in thenebular gas density in their envelopes are reported. New analyticalexpressions for the ionization correction factors have been derived andare used to determine the chemical compositions of the nebular gas inGalactic planetary nebulae. The abundances of He, N, O, Ne, S, and Arhave been found for 193 objects. The Y Z diagrams for various Heabundances are analyzed for type II planetary nebulae separately andjointly with HII regions. The primordial helium abundance Y p andenrichment ratio dY/dZ are determined, and the resulting values arecompared with the data of other authors. Radial abundance gradients inthe Galactic disk are studied using type II planetary nebulae. A reexamination of electron density diagnostics for ionized gaseous nebulaeWe present a comparison of electron densities derived from opticalforbidden line diagnostic ratios for a sample of over a hundred nebulae.We consider four density indicators, the [O II]λ3729/λ3726, [S II] λ6716/λ6731, [Cl III]λ5517/λ5537 and [Ar IV] λ4711/λ4740 doubletratios. Except for a few H II regions for which data from the literaturewere used, diagnostic line ratios were derived from our own high qualityspectra. For the [O II] λ3729/λ3726 doublet ratio, we findthat our default atomic data set, consisting of transition probabilitiesfrom Zeippen (\cite{zeippen1982}) and collision strengths from Pradhan(\cite{pradhan}), fit the observations well, although at high electrondensities, the [O II] doublet ratio yields densities systematicallylower than those given by the [S II] λ6716/λ6731 doubletratio, suggesting that the ratio of transition probabilities of the [OII] doublet, A(λ3729)/A(λ3726), given by Zeippen(\cite{zeippen1982}) may need to be revised upwards by approximately 6per cent. Our analysis also shows that the more recent calculations of[O II] transition probabilities by Zeippen (\cite{zeippen1987a}) andcollision strengths by McLaughlin & Bell (\cite{mclaughlin}) areinconsistent with the observations at the high and low density limits,respectively, and can therefore be ruled out. We confirm the earlierresult of Copetti & Writzl (\cite{copetti2002}) that the [O II]transition probabilities calculated by Wiese et al. (\cite{wiese}) yieldelectron densities systematically lower than those deduced from the [SII] λ6716/λ6731 doublet ratio and that the discrepancy ismost likely caused by errors in the transition probabilities calculatedby Wiese et al. (\cite{wiese}). Using our default atomic data set for [OII], we find that Ne([O II])  Ne([S II]) ≈Ne([Cl III])< Ne([Ar IV]). Planetary nebula distances re-examined: an improved statistical scaleThe distances of planetary nebulae (PNe) are still quite uncertain.Although observational estimates are available for a small proportion ofPNe, based on statistical parallax and the like, such distances are verypoorly determined for the majority of galactic PNe. In particular,estimates of so-called statistical' distance appear to differ byfactors of ~2.7.We point out that there is a well-defined correlation between the 5-GHzluminosity of the sources, L5, and their brightnesstemperatures, TB. This represents a different trend to thoseinvestigated in previous statistical analyses, and permits us todetermine independent distances to a further 449 outflows. Thesedistances are shown to be closely comparable to those determined using aTB-R correlation, providing that the latter trend is taken tobe non-linear.This non-linearity in the TB-R plane has not been noted inprevious analyses, and is likely responsible for the broad (andconflicting) ranges of distance that have previously been published.Finally, we point out that there is a close accord between observedtrends within the L5-TB and TB-Rplanes, and the variation predicted through nebular evolutionarymodelling. This is used to suggest that observational biases areprobably modest, and that our revised distance scale is reasonablytrustworthy. Electron temperatures and densities of planetary nebulae determined from the nebular hydrogen recombination spectrum and temperature and density variationsA method is presented to derive electron temperatures and densities ofplanetary nebulae (PNe) simultaneously, using the observed hydrogenrecombination spectrum, which includes continuum and line emission. Bymatching theoretical spectra to observed spectra around the Balmer jumpat about 3646 Å, we determine electron temperatures and densitiesfor 48 Galactic PNe. The electron temperatures based on this method -hereafter Te(Bal) - are found to be systematically lower thanthose derived from [OIII] λ4959/λ4363 and [OIII] (88 μm+ 52 μm)/λ4959 ratios - hereafterTe([OIII]na) andTe([OIII]fn). The electron densities based on thismethod are found to be systematically higher than those derived from[OII] λ3729/λ3726, [SII] λ6731/λ6716,[ClIII] λ5537/λ5517, [ArIV] λ4740/λ4711 and[OIII] 88 μm/52 μm ratios. These results suggest that temperatureand density fluctuations are generally present within nebulae. Thecomparison of Te([OIII]na) and Te(Bal)suggests that the fractional mean-square temperature variation(t2) has a representative value of 0.031. A majority oftemperatures derived from the Te([OIII]fn) ratioare found to be higher than those of Te([OIII]na),which is attributed to the existence of dense clumps in nebulae - those[OIII] infrared fine-structure lines are suppressed by collisionalde-excitation in the clumps. By comparingTe([OIII]fn), Te([OIII]na)and Te(Bal) and assuming a simple two-density-componentmodel, we find that the filling factor of dense clumps has arepresentative value of 7 × 10-5. The discrepanciesbetween Te([OIII]na) and Te(Bal) arefound to be anticorrelated with electron densities derived from variousdensity indicators; high-density nebulae have the smallest temperaturediscrepancies. This suggests that temperature discrepancy is related tonebular evolution. In addition, He/H abundances of PNe are found to bepositively correlated with the difference betweenTe([OIII]na) and Te(Bal), suggestingthat He/H abundances might have been overestimated generally because ofthe possible existence of H-deficient knots. Electron temperatures anddensities deduced from spectra around the Paschen jump regions at 8250Åare also obtained for four PNe: NGC 7027, NGC 6153, M 1-42 andNGC 7009. Electron densities derived from spectra around the Paschenjump regions are in good agreement with the corresponding values derivedfrom spectra around the Balmer jump, whereas temperatures deduced fromthe spectra around the Paschen jump are found to be lower than thecorresponding values derived from spectra around the Balmer jump for allthe four cases. The reason remains unclear. A reanalysis of chemical abundances in galactic PNe and comparison with theoretical predictions New determinations of chemical abundances for He, N, O, Ne, Ar and Sare derived for all galactic planetary nebulae (PNe) so far observedwith a relatively high accuracy, in an effort to overcome differences inthese quantities obtained over the years by different authors usingdifferent procedures. These include: ways to correct for interstellarextinction, the atomic data used to interpret the observed line fluxes,the model nebula adopted to represent real objects and the ionizationcorrections for unseen ions. A unique good quality' classical-typeprocedure, i.e. making use of collisionally excited forbidden lines toderive ionic abundances of heavy ions, has been applied to allindividual sets of observed line fluxes in each specific position withineach PN. Only observational data obtained with linear detectors, andsatisfying some quality' criteria, have been considered. Suchobservations go from the mid-1970s up to the end of 2001. Theobservational errors associated with individual line fluxes have beenpropagated through the whole procedure to obtain an estimate of theaccuracy of final abundances independent of an author's prejudices'.Comparison of the final abundances with those obtained in relevantmulti-object studies on the one hand allowed us to assess the accuracyof the new abundances, and on the other hand proved the usefulness ofthe present work, the basic purpose of which was to take full advantageof the vast amount of observations done so far of galactic PNe, handlingthem in a proper homogeneous way. The number of resulting PNe that havedata of an adequate quality to pass the present selection amounts to131. We believe that the new derived abundances constitute a highlyhomogeneous chemical data set on galactic PNe, with realisticuncertainties, and form a good observational basis for comparison withthe growing number of predictions from stellar evolution theory. Owingto the known discrepancies between the ionic abundances of heavyelements derived from the strong collisonally excited forbidden linesand those derived from the weak, temperature-insensitive recombinationlines, it is recognized that only abundance ratios between heavyelements can be considered as satisfactorily accurate. A comparison withtheoretical predictions allowed us to assess the state of the art inthis topic in any case, providing some findings and suggestions forfurther theoretical and observational work to advance our understandingof the evolution of low- and intermediate-mass stars. Galactic Planetary Nebulae and their central stars. I. An accurate and homogeneous set of coordinatesWe have used the 2nd generation of the Guide Star Catalogue (GSC-II) asa reference astrometric catalogue to compile the positions of 1086Galactic Planetary Nebulae (PNe) listed in the Strasbourg ESO Catalogue(SEC), its supplement and the version 2000 of the Catalogue of PlanetaryNebulae. This constitutes about 75% of all known PNe. For these PNe, theones with a known central star (CS) or with a small diameter, we havederived coordinates with an absolute accuracy of ~0\farcs35 in eachcoordinate, which is the intrinsic astrometric precision of the GSC-II.For another 226, mostly extended, objects without a GSC-II counterpartwe give coordinates based on the second epoch Digital Sky Survey(DSS-II). While these coordinates may have systematic offsets relativeto the GSC-II of up to 5 arcsecs, our new coordinates usually representa significant improvement over the previous catalogue values for theselarge objects. This is the first truly homogeneous compilation of PNepositions over the whole sky and the most accurate one available so far.The complete Table \ref{tab2} is only available in electronic form atthe CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/408/1029} Angular dimensions of planetary nebulaeWe have measured angular dimensions of 312 planetary nebulae from theirimages obtained in Hα (or Hα + [NII]). We have appliedthree methods of measurements: direct measurements at the 10% level ofthe peak surface brightness, Gaussian deconvolution and second-momentdeconvolution. The results from the three methods are compared andanalysed. We propose a simple deconvolution of the 10% levelmeasurements which significantly improves the reliability of thesemeasurements for compact and partially resolved nebulae. Gaussiandeconvolution gives consistent but somewhat underestimated diameterscompared to the 10% measurements. Second-moment deconvolution givesresults in poor agreement with those from the other two methods,especially for poorly resolved nebulae. From the results of measurementsand using the conclusions of our analysis we derive the final nebulardiameters which should be free from systematic differences between small(partially resolved) and extended (well resolved) objects in our sample.Table 1 is only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org Gas temperature and excitation classes in planetary nebulaeEmpirical methods to estimate the elemental abundances in planetarynebulae usually use the temperatures derived from the [O III] and [N II]emission-line ratios, respectively, for the high- and low-ionizationzones. However, for a large number of objects these values may not beavailable. In order to overcome this difficulty and allow a betterdetermination of abundances, we discuss the relationship between thesetwo temperatures. Although a correlation is not easily seen when asample of different PNe types is used, the situation is improved whenthey are gathered into excitation classes. From [OII]/[OIII] andHeII/HeI line ratios, we define four excitation classes. Then, usingstandard photoionization models which fit most of the data, a linearrelation between the two temperatures is obtained for each of the fourexcitation classes. The method is applied to several objects for whichonly one temperature can be obtained from the observed emission linesand is tested by recalculation of the radial abundance gradient of theGalaxy using a larger number of PNe. We verified that our previousgradient results, obtained with a smaller sample of planetary nebulae,are not changed, indicating that the temperature relation obtained fromthe photoionization models are a good approximation, and thecorresponding statistical error decreases as expected. Tables 3-5, 7 and9 are only available in electronic form at http://www.edpsciences.org An analysis of the observed radio emission from planetary nebulaeWe have analysed the radio fluxes for 264 planetary nebulae for whichreliable measurements of fluxes at 1.4 and 5 GHz, and of nebulardiameters are available. For many of the investigated nebulae, theoptical thickness is important, especially at 1.4 GHz. Simple modelslike the one specified only by a single optical thickness or spherical,constant density shells do not account satisfactorily for theobservations. Also an r-2 density distribution is ruled out.A reasonable representation of the observations can be obtained by atwo-component model having regions of two different values of opticalthickness. We show that the nebular diameters smaller than 10arcsec areuncertain, particularly if they come from photographic plates orGaussian fitting to the radio profile. While determining theinterstellar extinction from an optical to radio flux ratio, cautionshould be paid regarding optical thickness effects in the radio. We havedeveloped a method for estimating the value of self absorption. At 1.4GHz self absorption of the flux is usually important and can exceed afactor of 10. At 5 GHz self absorption is negligible for most of theobjects, although in some cases it can reach a factor of 2. The Galacticbulge planetary nebulae when used to calibrate the Shklovsky method givea mean nebular mass of 0.14 Msun. The statistical uncertaintyof the Shklovsky distances is smaller than a factor of 1.5. Table 1 isonly available in electronic form at http://www.edpsciences.org. Gravity distances of planetary nebulae II. Aplication to a sample of galactic objects.Not Available The dust content of planetary nebulae: a reappraisalWe have performed a statistical analysis using broad band IRAS data onabout 500 planetary nebulae with the aim of characterizing their dustcontent. Our approach is different from previous studies in that it usesan extensive grid of photoionization models to test the methods forderiving the dust temperature, the dust-to-gas mass ratio and theaverage grain size. In addition, we use only distance independentdiagrams. With our models, we show the effect of contamination by atomiclines in the broad band IRAS fluxes during planetary nebula evolution.We find that planetary nebulae with very different dust-to-gas massratios exist, so that the dust content is a primordial parameter for theinterpretation of far infrared data of planetary nebulae. In contrastwith previous studies, we find no evidence for a decrease in thedust-to-gas mass ratio as the planetary nebulae evolve. We also showthat the decrease in grain size advocated by Natta & Panagia(\cite{NattaPanagia}) and Lenzuni et al. (\cite{Lenzuni}) is an artefactof their method of analysis. Our results suggest that the timescale fordestruction of dust grains in planetary nebulae is larger than theirlifetime. Table~1 is only accessible in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html Infrared Planetary Nebulae in the NRAO VLA Sky SurveyIn order to construct a sample of planetary nebulae (PNe) unbiased bydust extinction, we first selected the 1358 sources in the IRAS PointSource Catalog north of J2000 declination delta=-40^deg having measuredS(25 μm)>=1 Jy and colors characteristic of PNe: detections orupper limits consistent with both S(12 μm)<=0.35S(25 μm) andS(25 μm)>=0.35S(60 μm). The majority are radio-quietcontaminating sources such as asymptotic giant branch stars. Free-freeemission from genuine PNe should make them radio sources. The 1.4 GHzNRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) images and source catalog were used to rejectradio-quiet mid-infrared sources. We identified 454 IRAS sources withradio sources brighter than S~2.5 mJy beam^-1 (equivalent to T~0.8 K inthe 45" FHWM NVSS beam) by positional coincidence. They comprise 332known PNe in the Strasbourg-ESO Catalogue of Galactic Planetary Nebulaeand 122 candidate PNe, most of which lie at very low Galactic latitudes.Exploratory optical spectroscopic observations suggest that most ofthese candidates are indeed PNe optically dimmed by dust extinction,although some contamination remains from H II regions, Seyfert galaxies,etc. Furthermore, the NVSS failed to detect only 4% of the known PNe inour infrared sample. Thus it appears that radio selection can greatlyimprove the reliability of PN candidate samples withoutsacrificingcompleteness. Electron densities in planetary nebulae, and the unusual characteristics of the [S BT II] emission zone} ] densities in planetary nebulaeWe investigate the radial variation of electron densities in planetarynebulae, using values of ne deriving from the [S ii]<~mbda6717/<~mbda6730 line ratio. As a result, we are able to showthat there is a sharp discontinuity in densities of order 1.4 dex closeto nebular radii R=0.1 pc. It is proposed, as a consequence, that mostnebulae contain two primary [S ii] emission zones, with densitiesdiffering by a factor ~ 10(2) . The intensity of emission from thedenser component increases by an order of magnitude where nebulae passfrom radiation to density-bound expansion regimes, resulting in acorresponding discontinuous jump in [S ii]/Hβ line ratios. Theorigins of these changes are not entirely clear, although one mechanismis investigated whereby the superwind outflows shock interact withexterior AGB envelopes. Finally, the derived trends in ne(R)are used to determine distances for a further 262 nebulae. The resultingdistance scale appears to be comparable to that of Daub (1982) and Cahnet al. (1992). The kinematics of 867 galactic planetary nebulaeWe present a compilation of radial velocities of 867 galactic planetarynebulae. Almost 900 new measurements are included. Previously publishedkinematical data are compared with the new high-resolution data toassess their accuracies. One of the largest samples in the literatureshows evidence for a systematic velocity offset. We calculate weightedaverages between all available data. Of the final values in thecatalogue, 90% have accuracies better than 20 km s(-1) . We use thiscompilation to derive kinematical parameters of the galacticdifferential rotation obtained from least-square fitting and toestablish the Disk rotation curve; we find no significal trend for thepresence of an increasing external rotation curve. We examine also therotation of the bulge; the derived curve is consistent with a linearlyincreasing rotation velocity with l: we find V_b,r=(9.9+/-1.3)l -(6.7+/-8.5) km s(-1) . A possible steeper gradient in the innermostregion is indicated. Table 2 is available in electronic form only, viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html Planetary Nebulae in the NRAO VLA Sky SurveyThe 1.4 GHz NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) images and source catalog wereused to detect radio emission from the 885 planetary nebulae north ofJ2000 declination delta = -40 deg in the Strasbourg-ESO Catalogue ofGalactic Planetary Nebulae. We identified 680 radio sources brighterthan about S = 2.5 mJy beam-1 (equivalent to T ~ 0.8 K in the 45" FWHMNVSS beam) with planetary nebulae by coincidence with accurate opticalpositions measured from Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) images. Totalextinction coefficients c at lambda = 4861 Angstroms were calculated forthe 429 planetary nebulae with available H beta fluxes and low free-freeoptical depths at 1.4 GHz. The variation of c with Galactic latitude andlongitude is consistent with the extinction being primarily interstellarand not intrinsic. A self-consistent determination of distances, physical parameters, and chemical composition for a large sample of galactic planetary nebulae: chemical compositionThe relative abundances of He, C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Si, S, and Ar arepresented for, respectively, 185, 65, 212, 221, 180, 13, 41, 197, and205 Galactic planetary nebulae. The observed stages of ionization weretaken into account using the relations between the relative abundancesof different ions derived from a grid of photoionization models for thenebular emission. The chemical compositions of all the planetary nebulaewere determined using the same method and the same atomic data, so thatthe results have a high degree of uniformity; this is the first timethis has been done for such a large sample of Galactic planetary nebulae(221 objects). A self-consistent determination of the distances, physical parameters, and chemical composition for a large sample of galactic planetary nebulae: The distances and parameters of central stars and the optical depths of envelopesThe distances and parameters of the central stars and the optical depthsof the envelopes in the Lyman limits of neutral hydrogen and neutralhelium were determined in a self-consistent way for 170 Galacticplanetary nebulae (PNe). The distance to each PN was so chosen that thetheoretically calculated evolutionary age of its nucleus was equal tothe dynamical age of its expanding envelope. The effective temperatureof the central star and its related parameters were determined either bythe generalized energy-balance method or, where appropriate, byZanstra's method. The derived distance estimates lend support to along' distance scale for PNe and are generally in agreement withcurrent individual and statistical estimates of the distances to PNeavailable in the literature. The mean distance to the bulge PNe is 7.9+/- 0.3 kpc, in agreement with the distance to the Galactic center. Themasses of the central stars of PNe corresponding to the deriveddistances are closely correlated with the nebular nitrogen-to-oxygenabundance ratio. Classification of planetary nebulae by cluster analysis and artificial neural networks.According to the chemical composition, a sample of 192 Planetary Nebulaeof different types has been re-classified, and 41 others have beenclassified for the first time, by means of two methods not employed sofar in this field: hierarchical cluster analysis and supervisedartificial neural network. The cluster analysis reveals itself as a goodfirst guess for grouping Planetary Nebulae, while an artificial neuralnetwork provides reliable automated classification of this kind ofobjects. Vitesses radiales. Catalogue WEB: Wilson Evans Batten. Subtittle: Radial velocities: The Wilson-Evans-Batten catalogue.We give a common version of the two catalogues of Mean Radial Velocitiesby Wilson (1963) and Evans (1978) to which we have added the catalogueof spectroscopic binary systems (Batten et al. 1989). For each star,when possible, we give: 1) an acronym to enter SIMBAD (Set ofIdentifications Measurements and Bibliography for Astronomical Data) ofthe CDS (Centre de Donnees Astronomiques de Strasbourg). 2) the numberHIC of the HIPPARCOS catalogue (Turon 1992). 3) the CCDM number(Catalogue des Composantes des etoiles Doubles et Multiples) byDommanget & Nys (1994). For the cluster stars, a precise study hasbeen done, on the identificator numbers. Numerous remarks point out theproblems we have had to deal with. A statistical distance scale for Galactic planetary nebulaeA statistical distance scale is proposed. It is based on the correlationbetween the ionized mass and the radius and the correlation between theradio continuum surface brightness temperature and the nebular radius.The proposed statistical distance scale is an average of the twodistances obtained while using the correlation. These correlations,calibrated based on the 1`32 planetary nebulae with well-determinedindividual distances by Zhang, can reproduce not only the averagedistance of a sample of Galactic Bulge planetary nebulae exactly at thedistance to the Galactic center, but also the expected Gaussiandistribution of their distances around the Galactic center. This newdistance scale is applied to 647 Galactic planetary nebulae. It isestimated that this distance scale can be accurate on average to35%-50%. Our statistical distance scale is in good agreement with theone recently proposed by Van de Steene and Zijlstra. The correlationsfound in this study can be attributed to the fact that the core mass ofthe central stars has a very sharp distribution, strongly peaked atapprox. 0.6 solar mass. We stress that the scatter seen in thestatistical distance scale is likely to be real. The scatter is causedby the fact that the core mass distribution, although narrow andstrongly peaked, has a finite width. On an alternative statistical distance scale for planetary nebulae. Catalog with statistical distances to planetary nebulae.We have proposed a statistical method to determine distances toplanetary nebulae. The method is based on an empirical correlationbetween the radio-continuum brightness temperature and radius. Here wepresent a catalog of distance determinations calculated using thismethod. Abundances and radial gradients from disk planetary nebulae: He, N, C, and CLChemical abundances of the elements He, N, C, and Cl are presented fordisk planetary nebulae, comprising Peimbert types I, II, and III.Average abundances for these classes are determined and compared withthe remaining abundances available. The presence of abundance gradientsrelative to hydrogen for disk nebulae is investigated in a region ofabout 8 kpc centered in the solar system. It can be concluded that thegradients of the ratios N/H, Cl/H, and probably C/H are similar to theO/H gradient, especially for type II objects. A catalogue HeII 4686 line intensities in Galactic planetary nebulae.We have compiled the intensities of the HeII 4686 lines measured inGalactic planetary nebulae. We present a few observational diagramsrelated to this parameter, and discuss them with the help of theoreticaldiagrams obtained from simple model planetary nebulae surroundingevolving central stars of various masses. We determine the hydrogen andhelium Zanstra temperature for all the objects with accurate enoughdata. We argue that, for Galactic planetary nebulae as a whole, the maincause for the Zanstra discrepancy is leakage of stellar ionizing photonsfrom the nebulae. Element abundances in planetary nebulae from recombination line spectra.Not Available Trace of planetary nebula evolution by distance-independent parametersUsing existing infrared and radio data on a sample of 432 planetarynebulae, we derived a number of distance-independent parameters forcomparison with evolutionary models of planetary nebulae. We find thatmany of the observed properties of planetary nebulae can be explained bycurrent central star evolutionary models, even if the time scales aresubject to significant change by a factor of up to an order ofmagnitude. Specifically, we find that the evolutionary tracks are wellseparated in the radio surface brightness-central star temperatureplane, therefore allowing us to determine the core mass of individualplanetary nebulae. We also obtain the luminosity and gravity of thecentral stars of individual nebulae, from their temperature and coremass, without relying on the distance assumptions. We find that ourresults of the core mass are in good agreement with those of Mendez etal. (1992) and Tylenda et al. (1991). A systematic, large discrepancy isfound between the luminosity found in this work and that found byGathier and Pottasch (1986). The features of chemical abundances in Galactic planetary nebulaeThe chemical composition of 217 Galactic planetary nebulae isinvestigated; 203 of them are subdivided into four classes according tothe masses of nebulae and progenitor stars. The values of localabundances, Galactic abundance gradients and Galactic electrontemperature gradients are found for each class of nebula. Thecorrelations between the abundances of pairs of elements are alsocalculated for each class of nebula. The results are compared withtheoretical predictions. In particular, it is concluded that CN cyclingcan play a role in progenitor stars for all classes of planetary nebula. Comparison of two methods for determining the interstellar extinction of planetary nebulaeA comparison of the planetary nebulae as derived from the Balmerdecrement and from the ratio of radio and H-beta fluxes is presented onthe basis of a compilation of all the relevant radio and opticalmeasurements and a serious selection of the best data. It is shown thatthe extinction determined from the Balmer decrement is systematicallylarger than the one derived from the radio data, the slope of the (Copt,Crad) relation being about 1.2. It is argued that, for most distantplanetary nebulae, the total to selection extinction is significantlylower than 3, the value corresponding to the standard extinction law forthe interstellar medium. A catalogue of narrow band images of planetary nebulaeThe paper presents a catalog of narrow-band images of 255 planetarynebulae (PNe) taken with the 3.5 m ESO NTT, using EFOSC2, the faintobject camera, and spectrograph. The results include properties ofseveral PNe which were previously listed as unresolved, show extendedstellar objects, list several new bipolar proto-PNe, and describe a fewpreviously unknown faint haloes. A new list is presented of sizes inH-alpha and forbidden OIII images, including information on all peculiarobjects and features which have not been seen previously. Small-scale structure of gaseous nebulaeThe abundances of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen in 26 galactic nebulaeare determined on the basis of ion recombination line intensities ofthese elements. The obtained abundances exceed by a factor of 2-10 theabundances determined from intensities of the lines excited by theelectron impact. The influence of the electron density fluctuations onthe recombination line intensities and the intensities of the linesexcited by the electron impact is investigated. It is concluded thatelectron temperature fluctuations strongly effect the determination ofelement abundance. The sizes of possible dense clumps in the nebulae areestimated.
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