Sub-arcsecond Morphology of Planetary Nebulae

TL;DR

This paper presents high-resolution images of planetary nebulae revealing complex small-scale structures, including jets and turbulence, challenging simplistic formation models and highlighting morphological diversity.

Contribution

The study provides the first sub-arcsecond images of large PNe, uncovering detailed structures and outflows not previously observed, advancing understanding of their formation and evolution.

Findings

Revealed multi-polar ejections in bipolar PNe

Detected jet-like outflows in several objects

Identified turbulent gas motions in nebulae

Abstract

Planetary nebulae (PNe) can be roughly categorized into several broad morphological classes. The high quality images of PNe acquired in recent years, however, have revealed a wealth of fine structures that preclude simplistic models for their formation. Here we present narrow-band, sub-arcsecond images of a sample of relatively large PNe that illustrate the complexity and variety of small-scale structures. This is especially true for bipolar PNe, for which the images reveal multi-polar ejections and, in some cases, suggest turbulent gas motions. Our images also reveal the presence or signs of jet-like outflows in several objects in which this kind of component has not been previously reported.