The Structure of the Homunculus. III. Forming a Disk and Bipolar Lobes in a Rotating Surface Explosion

TL;DR

This paper introduces a semi-analytic model explaining how rotating stars can produce bipolar lobes and equatorial disks through surface explosions, without needing magnetic fields or aspherical environments.

Contribution

It presents a novel explosion-based model that accounts for bipolar and disk-shaped nebulae around rotating stars, extending wind-compressed disk concepts to explosive events.

Findings

Model successfully reproduces bipolar and equatorial structures.

Continuum-driving prevents disk inhibition in the model.

Applicable to various stellar phenomena beyond eta Carinae.

Abstract

We present a semi-analytic model for shaping the nebula around eta Carinae that accounts for the simultaneous production of bipolar lobes and an equatorial disk through a rotating surface explosion. Material is launched normal to the surface of an oblate rotating star with an initial kick velocity that scales approximately with the local escape speed. Thereafter, ejecta follow ballistic orbital trajectories, feeling only a central force corresponding to a radiatively reduced gravity. Our model is conceptually similar to the wind-compressed disk model of Bjorkman & Cassinelli, but we modify it to an explosion instead of a steady line-driven wind, we include a rotationally-distorted star, and we treat the dynamics somewhat differently. Continuum-driving avoids the disk inhibition that normally operates in line-driven winds. Our model provides a simple method by which rotating hot stars can simultaneously produce intrinsically bipolar and equatorial mass ejections, without an aspherical environment or magnetic fields. Although motivated by eta Carinae, the model may have generic application to other LBVs, B[e] stars, or SN1987A's nebula. When near-Eddington radiative driving is less influential, our model generalizes to produce bipolar morphologies without disks, as seen in many PNe.