Hu1-2: a metal-poor bipolar planetary nebula with fast collimated outflows

TL;DR

Hu1-2 is a metal-poor bipolar planetary nebula with high-velocity outflows, exhibiting complex morphology and excitation conditions influenced by shocks and UV radiation, and likely hosting a post-CE binary central star.

Contribution

This study provides detailed imaging and spectroscopic analysis of Hu1-2, revealing its unique kinematic structure, chemical abundances, and excitation mechanisms, advancing understanding of bipolar PNe with fast collimated outflows.

Findings

Hu1-2 has high He/H (~0.14) and N/O (~0.9) ratios, typical of Type I PNe.

It exhibits low O, Ne, S, and Ar abundances compared to Galactic bulge and disc PNe.

The nebula shows an hour-glass shape with bipolar expansion and high excitation in its knots.

Abstract

We present narrow-band optical and near-IR imaging and optical long-slit spectroscopic observations of Hu1-2, a Galactic planetary nebula (PN) with a pair of [N II]-bright, fast-moving (> 340 km/s) bipolar knots. Intermediate-dispersion spectra are used to derive physical conditions and abundances across the nebula, and high-dispersion spectra to study the spatio-kinematical structure. Generally Hu1-2 has high He/H (~0.14) and N/O ratios (~0.9), typical of Type I PNe. On the other hand, its abundances of O, Ne, S, and Ar are low as compared with the average abundances of Galactic bulge and disc PNe. The position-velocity maps can be generally described as an hour-glass shaped nebula with bipolar expansion, although the morphology and kinematics of the innermost regions cannot be satisfactorily explained with a simple, tilted equatorial torus. The spatio-kinematical study confines the inclination angle of its major axis to be within 10 degrees of the plane of sky. As in the irradiated bow-shocks of IC4634 and NGC7009, there is a clear stratification in the emission peaks of [O III], H_alpha, and [N II] in the northwest (NW) knot of Hu1-2. Fast collimated outflows in PNe exhibit higher excitation than other low-ionization structures. This is particularly the case for the bipolar knots of Hu1-2, with He II emission levels above those of collimated outflows in other Galactic PNe. The excitation of the knots in Hu1-2 is consistent with the combined effects of shocks and UV radiation from the central star. The mechanical energy and luminosity of the knots are similar to those observed in the PNe known to harbor a post-common envelope (post-CE) close binary central star.