2,836 research outputs found
Kinematic and morphological modeling of the bipolar nebula Sa2-237
We present [OIII]500.7nm and Halpha+[NII] images and long-slit, high
resolution echelle spectra in the same spectral regions of Sa2--237, a possible
bipolar planetary nebula. The image shows a bipolar nebula of about 34" extent,
with a narrow waist, and showing strong point symmetry about the central
object, indicating it's likely binary nature. The long slit spectra were taken
over the long axis of the nebula, and show a distinct ``eight'' shaped pattern
in the velocity--space plot, and a maximum projected outflow velocity of
V=106km/s, both typical of expanding bipolar planetary nebulae. By model
fitting the shape and spectrum of the nebula simultaneously, we derive the
inclination of the long axis to be 70 degrees, and the maximum space velocity
of expansion to be 308 km/s. Due to asymmetries in the velocities we adopt a
new value for the system's heliocentric radial velocity of -30km/s. We use the
IRAS and 21cm radio fluxes, the energy distribution, and the projected size of
Sa2-237 to estimate it's distance to be 2.1+-0.37kpc. At this distance Sa2-237
has a luminosity of 340 Lsun, a size of 0.37pc, and -- assuming constant
expansion velocity -- a nebular age of 624 years. The above radial velocity and
distance place Sa2--237 in the disk of the Galaxy at z=255pc, albeit with
somewhat peculiar kinematics.Comment: 10pp, 4 fig
Jets, knots and tails in planetary nebulae: NGC 3918, K 1-2 and Wray 17-1
We analyze optical images and high-resolution, long-slit spectra of three
planetary nebulae which possess collimated, low-ionization features. NGC 3918
is composed of an inner, spindle-shaped shell mildly inclined with respect to
the plane of the sky. Departing from the polar regions of this shell, we find a
two-sided jet expanding with velocities which increase linearly with distance
from 50 to 100 km/s. The jet is probably coeval with the inner shell (with the
age of approximately 1000 D yr, where D is the distance in kpc), suggesting
that its formation should be ascribed to the same dynamical processes which
also shaped the main nebula, and not to a more recent mass loss episode. We
discuss the formation of the aspherical shell and jet in the light of current
hydrodynamical and magnetohydrodynamical theories. K 1-2 is a planetary nebula
with a close binary nucleus which shows a collimated string of knots embedded
in a diffuse, elliptical shell. The knots expand with a velocity similar to
that of the elliptical nebula (25 km/s), except for an extended tail located
out of the main nebula, which linearly accelerates up to 45 km/s. We estimate
an inclination on the line of the sight of 40 degres for the string of knots;
once the orientation of the orbit is also determined, this information will
allow us to test the prediction of current theories of the occurrence of polar
jets from close binary systems. Wray 17-1 has a complex morphology, showing two
pairs of low-ionization structures located in almost perpendicular directions
from the central star, and embedded in a large, diffuse nebula. The two pairs
show notable similarities and differences, and their origin is very puzzling.Comment: 20 pages plus 10 figures. ApJ recently published (ApJ 523, 721
(1999)
High-velocity collimated outflows in planetary nebulae: NGC 6337, He 2-186, and K 4-47
We have obtained narrow-band images and high-resolution spectra of the
planetary nebulae NGC 6337, He 2-186, and K 4-47, with the aim of investigating
the relation between their main morphological components and several
low-ionization features present in these nebulae. The data suggest that NGC
6337 is a bipolar PN seen almost pole on, with polar velocities higher than 200
km/s. The bright inner ring of the nebula is interpreted to be the "equatorial"
density enhancement. It contains a number of low-ionization knots and outward
tails that we ascribe to dynamical instabilities leading to fragmentation of
the ring or transient density enhancements due to the interaction of the
ionization front with previous density fluctuations in the ISM. The lobes show
a pronounced point-symmetric morphology and two peculiar low-ionization
filaments whose nature remains unclear. The most notable characteristic of He
2-186 is the presence of two high-velocity (higher than 135 km/s) knots from
which an S-shaped lane of emission departs toward the central star. K 4-47 is
composed of a compact core and two high-velocity, low-ionization blobs. We
interpret the substantial broadening of line emission from the blobs as a
signature of bow shocks, and using the modeling of Hartigan, Raymond, & Hartman
(1987), we derive a shock velocity of 150 km/s and a mild inclination of the
outflow on the plane of the sky. We discuss possible scenarios for the
formation of these nebulae and their low-ionization features. In particular,
the morphology of K 4-47 hardly fits into any of the usually adopted mass-loss
geometries for single AGB stars. Finally, we discuss the possibility that
point-symmetric morphologies in the lobes of NGC 6337 and the knots of He 2-186
are the result of precessing outflows from the central stars.Comment: 16 pages plus 7 figures, ApJ accepted. Also available at
http://www.iac.es/publicaciones/preprints.htm
Discovery in IC10 of the farthest known symbiotic star
We report the discovery of the first known symbiotic star in IC10, a
starburst galaxy belonging to the Local Group, at a distance of ~750kpc. The
symbiotic star was identified during a survey of emission-line objects. It
shines at V = 24.62+-0.04, V - R_C = 2.77+-0.05 and R_C - I_C = 2.39+-0.02 and
suffers from E(B-V) = 0.85+-0.05 reddening. The spectrum of the cool component
well matches that of solar neighborhood M8III giants. The observed emission
lines belong to Balmer series, [SII], [NII] and [OIII]. They suggest a low
electronic density, negligible optical depth effects and 35,000K < T_eff <
90,000K for the ionizing source. The spectrum of the new symbiotic star in IC10
is an almost perfect copy of that of Hen 2-147, a well known Galactic symbiotic
star and Mira.Comment: 5 pages including 3 figures. MNRAS Letters accepted. Also available
at http://pessoais.ov.ufrj.br/denise
Knots in the outer shells of the planetary nebulae IC 2553 and NGC 5882
We present images and high-resolution spectra of the planetary nebulae IC
2553 and NGC 5882. Spatio-kinematic modeling of the nebulae shows that they are
composed of a markedly elongated inner shell, and of a less aspherical outer
shell expanding at a considerably higher velocity than the inner one. Embedded
in the outer shells of both nebulae are found several low-ionization knots. In
IC 2553, the knots show a point-symmetric distribution with respect to the
central star: one possible explanation for their formation is that they are the
survivors of pre-existing point-symmetric condensations in the AGB wind, a fact
which would imply a quite peculiar mass-loss geometry from the giant
progenitor. In the case of NGC 5882, the lack of symmetry in the distribution
of the observed low-ionization structures makes it possible that they are the
result of in situ instabilities.Comment: 20 pages including 1 table and 6 figures. ApJ accepted. Also
available at http://andromeda.roque.ing.iac.es/~sanchez/ingpub/index2000.htm
The physical parameters, excitation and chemistry of the rim, jets and knots of the planetary nebula NGC 7009
We present long-slit optical spectra along the major axis of the planetary
nebula NGC 7009. These data allow us to discuss the physical, excitation and
chemical properties of all the morphological components of the nebula,
including its remarkable systems of knots and jets. The main results of this
analysis are the following: i) the electron temperature throughout the nebula
is remarkably constant, T_e[OIII] = 10200K; ii) the bright inner rim and inner
pair of knots have similar densities of N_e = 6000cm^{-3}, whereas a much lower
density of N_e = 1500cm^{-3} is derived for the outer knots as well as for the
jets; iii) all the regions (rim, inner knots, jets and outer knots) are mainly
radiatively excited; and iv) there are no clear abundance changes across the
nebula for He, O, Ne, or S. There is a marginal evidence for an overabundance
of nitrogen in the outer knots (ansae), but the inner ones (caps) and the rim
have similar N/H values that are at variance with previous results. Our data
are compared to the predictions of theoretical models, from which we conclude
that the knots at the head of the jets are not matter accumulated during the
jet expansion through the circumstellar medium, neither can their origin be
explained by the proposed HD or MHD interacting-wind models for the formation
of jets/ansae, since the densities as well as the main excitation mechanisms of
the knots, disagree with model predictions.Comment: Figure 1 was changed because features were misidentified in the
previous version. 17 pages including 5 figures and 3 tables. ApJ in press.
Also available at http://www.iac.es/galeria/denise
The large-scale ionised outflow of CH Cygni
HST and ground-based [OII} and [NII] images obtained from 1996 to 1999 reveal
the existence of a ionised optical nebula around the symbiotic binary CH Cyg
extending out to 5000 A.U. from the central stars. The observed velocity range
of the nebula, derived from long-slit echelle spectra, is of 130 km/s. In spite
of its complex appearence, the velocity data show that the basic morphology of
the inner regions of the optical nebula is that of a bipolar (or conical)
outflow extending nearly along the plane of the sky out to some 2000 A.U. from
the centre. Even if the extension of this bipolar outflow and its position
angle are consistent with those of the radio jet produced in 1984 (extrapolated
to the time of our optical imagery), no obvious counterpart is visible of the
original, dense radio bullets ejected by the system. We speculate that the
optical bipolar outflow might be the remannt of the interaction of the bullets
with a relatively dense circumstellar medium.Comment: 8 text pages + 3 figures (jpeg). ApJ in press. For a full PostScript
version with figures inline see
ftp://ftp.ll.iac.es/pub/research/preprints/PP252001.ps.g
Low-ionization structures in planetary nebulae: confronting models with observations
Around 50 PNe are presently known to possess "small-scale" low-ionization
structures (LISs). We consider here jets, jet-like, symmetrical and
non-symmetrical LISs and present a detailed comparison of the existing model
predictions with the observational morphological and kinematical properties. We
find that nebulae with LISs appear indistinctly spread among all morphological
classes of PNe, indicating that the processes leading to the formation of LISs
are not necessarily related to those responsible for the asphericity of the
large-scale morphological components of PNe. We show that both the observed
velocities and locations of most non-symmetrical LISs can be reasonably well
reproduced assuming either fossil condensations originated in the AGB wind or
in-situ instabilities. The jet models proposed to date (HD and MHD interacting
winds or accretion-disk collimated winds) appear unable to account
simultaneously for the kinematical ages and the angle between the jet and the
symmetry axes of the nebulae. The linear increase in velocity observed in
several jets favors MHD confinement compared to pure HD interacting wind
models. On the other hand, we find that the formation of jet-like systems
characterized by relatively low expansion velocities cannot be explained by any
of the existing models. Finally, the knots which appear in symmetrical and
opposite pairs of low velocity could be understood as the survival of fossil
(symmetrical) condensations formed during the AGB phase or as structures that
have experienced substantial slowing down by the ambient medium.Comment: 21 pages including 5 tables. To appear in ApJ 547, Jan 2001. Also
available at http://www.iac.es/publicaciones/preprints.htm
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