Planetary nebulae in the Magellanic Clouds. I. Carbon abundances and TypeI PNe.

We present optical and ultraviolet spectroscopic observations of planetary nebulae (PNe) in the Large (LMC) and the Small Magellanic Clouds (SMC). For the visible spectra with highest S/N, line intensities have been measured to a few tenths of a percent of H_beta_. UV spectra are used for the determination of carbon abundances. This paper discusses the CNO cycle and its implications. We show that the CN or ON cycles are more effective with lower initial metallicities and are always complete for typeI nebulae. The latter cannot easily be distinguished from non-type I PNe on the basis of N or He abundance alone, as continuity exists in all of the standard diagrams. From the study of the C abundances, we deduce that the 3rd dredge-up is occurring in all PNe: its efficiency too is higher with lower initial metallicities, offering an easy explanation for the higher number of carbon stars found in metal-deficient galaxies. It is shown that this dredged-up carbon is sometimes transformed into nitrogen by Hot-Bottom Burning, but in a few objects only and not even in all the typeI PNe, which therefore do not form a homogeneous class.