Aims: We present a multiwavelength study of the Be/X-ray binary system XTE J1946+274 with the main goal of better characterizing its behavior during X-ray quiescence. We also aim to shed light on the possible mechanisms which trigger the X-ray activity for this source. Methods: XTE J1946+274 was observed by Chandra-ACIS during quiescence in 2013

We determine the radial abundance gradient of Cl in the Milky Way from H II regions spectra. For the first time, the Cl/H ratios are computed by simply adding ionic abundances and not using an ionization correction factor (ICF). We use a collection of published very deep spectra of Galactic H II regions. We have recalculated the physical conditions

The chemical content of the planetary nebula NGC 3918 is investigated through deep, high-resolution (R ˜ 40 000) UVES (Ultraviolet-Visual Echelle Spectrograph) at VLT (Very Large Telescope) spectrophotometric data. We identify and measure more than 750 emission lines, making ours one of the deepest spectra ever taken for a planetary nebula. Among

We present deep, intermediate-resolution, optical spectroscopy of 136 genuine UV-bright regions located in both the inner and outer regions of NGC 1512. This galaxy is in close interaction with the blue compact dwarf galaxy NGC 1510 and possesses two prominent H I arms where extended ultraviolet complexes are found. Our data were taken using 2dF

The discrepancy between abundances computed using optical recombination lines and collisionally excited lines is a major unresolved problem in nebular astrophysics. Here, we show that the largest abundance discrepancies are reached in planetary nebulae with close binary central stars. We illustrate this using deep spectroscopy of three nebulae with

The reduction of integral field spectroscopy (IFS) data requires several stages and many repetitive operations to convert raw data into, typically, a large number of spectra. Instead there are several semiautomatic data reduction tools and here we present this data reduction process using some of the Image Reduction and Analysis Facility (IRAF)

Analysis of emission lines in gaseous nebulae yields direct measures of physical conditions and chemical abundances and is the cornerstone of nebular astrophysics. Although the physical problem is conceptually simple, its practical complexity can be overwhelming since the amount of data to be analyzed steadily increases; furthermore, results depend

Based on high quality observations of multiplet V1 of O II and the NLTE atomic computations for O II we study the density and temperature of a sample of PNe. We find that, in general, the densities derived from recombination lines of O II are similar to the densities derived from forbidden lines. This implies that the signature for oxygen rich

Context. Main-sequence massive stars embedded in an H ii region should have the same chemical abundances as the surrounding nebular gas+dust. The Cocoon nebula (IC 5146), a close-by Galactic H ii region ionized by a narrow line B0.5 V single star (BD+46 3474), is an ideal target to compare nebular and stellar abundances in detail in the same

Aims: We present a multiwavelength study of the Be/X-ray binary system SAX J2103.5+4545 with the goal of better characterizing the transient behaviour of this source. Methods: SAX J2103.5+4545 was observed by Swift/XRT four times in 2007 from April 25 to May 5, and during quiescence in 2012 August 31. In addition, this source has been monitored

Context. The kinematics of planetary nebulae in external galaxies and in our own is a clue for understanding the behavior of the low- and intermediate-mass stars and their relation with other components of the galaxies. Aims: By measuring precise radial velocities of planetary nebulae (which belong to the intermediate-age population), H ii regions

We present deep echelle spectrophotometry of the brightest emission-line knots of the star-forming galaxies He 2-10, Mrk 1271, NGC 3125, NGC 5408, POX 4, SDSS J1253-0312, Tol 1457-262, Tol 1924-416 and the H II region Hubble V in the Local Group dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 6822. The data have been taken with the Very Large Telescope Ultraviolet

While analysing the images of the IPHAS (INT/WFC Photometric Hα Survey of the northern Galactic plane) survey, we noticed that the central star of the candidate planetary nebula IPHASXJ211420.0+434136 (also named Ou5) was clearly variable. This is generally considered as an indication of binarity. To confirm it, we performed a photometric

We present new results on the chemical composition of the Galactic ring nebula NGC 6888 surrounding the WN6(h) star WR136. The data are based on deep spectroscopical observations taken with the High Dispersion Spectrograph at the 8.2 m Subaru Telescope. The spectra cover the optical range from 3700 to 7400 Å. The effect of the CNO cycle is well

High spectral resolution spectroscopy has proved to be very useful for the advancement of chemical abundances studies in photoionized nebulae, such as H II regions and planetary nebulae (PNe). Classical analyses make use of the intensity of bright collisionally excited lines (CELs), which have a strong dependence on the electron temperature and

We have computed the Galactic Habitable Zones (GHZs) of the Andromeda galaxy (M31) based on the probability of terrestrial planet formation, which depends on the metallicity (Z) of the interstellar medium, and the number of stars formed per unit surface area. The GHZ was obtained from a chemical evolution model built to reproduce a metallicity

Aims: We present the abundance analysis of 12 planetary nebulae ionized by [WC]-type stars and weak-emission-line stars (wels) obtained from high-resolution spectrophotometric data. Our main aims are to determine the chemical composition of the nebulae and to study the behaviour of the abundance discrepancy problem (ADF) in this type of planetary

The propagation of a shock wave into a medium is expected to heat the material beyond the shock, producing noticeable effects in intensity line ratios such as [O iii]/Hα. To investigate the occurrence of shocks in planetary nebulae (PNe), we have used all narrow-band [O iii] and Hα images of PNe available in the HST archive to build their [O iii]

We present deep echelle spectrophotometry of the Galactic H II region NGC 2579. The data have been taken with the Very Large Telescope Ultraviolet-Visual Echelle Spectrograph in the 3550-10 400 Å range. This object, which has been largely neglected, shows however a rather high surface brightness, a high ionization degree and is located at a

High resolution spectra are used to analyze the galactic kinematics and distribution of a sample of planetary nebulae with [WR] and `wel' central star ([WR]PN and WLPN). The circular and peculiar velocities, (V_pec), of the objects were derived. The results are: (a) [WR]PNe are distributed mainly in the galactic disk and they are more concentrated