A study of the kinematics and binary-induced shaping of the planetary nebula HaTr 4

TL;DR

This paper provides the first detailed 3D kinematic analysis of the planetary nebula HaTr 4, revealing its morphology and the influence of a central binary system, highlighting the role of common envelope evolution in shaping such nebulae.

Contribution

It offers the first detailed spatio-kinematical model of HaTr 4, linking nebular shape to binary evolution and common envelope processes.

Findings

HaTr 4 has an extended ovoid shape with a toroidal waist.

The nebula's symmetry axis is perpendicular to the binary's orbital plane.

Binary influence is evident in the nebula's morphology.

Abstract

We present the first detailed spatio-kinematical analysis and modelling of the planetary nebula HaTr 4, one of few known to contain a post-common-envelope central star system. Common envelope evolution is believed to play an important role in the shaping of planetary nebulae, but the exact nature of this role is yet to be understood. High spatial- and spectral- resolution spectroscopy of the [OIII]5007 nebular line obtained with VLT-UVES are presented alongside deep narrowband Ha+[NII]6584 imagery obtained using EMMI-NTT, and together the two are used to derive the three-dimensional morphology of HaTr 4. The nebula is found to display an extended ovoid morphology with an enhanced equatorial region consistent with a toroidal waist - a feature believed to be typical amongst planetary nebulae with post-common-envelope central stars. The nebular symmetry axis is found to lie perpendicular to the orbital plane of the central binary, concordant with the idea that the formation and evolution of HaTr 4 has been strongly influenced by its central binary.