The excitation mechanism of H2 in bipolar planetary nebulae

TL;DR

This study uses near-IR spectroscopy to analyze the excitation mechanisms of H2 in bipolar planetary nebulae, revealing that shock excitation dominates in nebulae with broad rings, while UV excitation occurs in those with narrow waists.

Contribution

It provides the first spatially-resolved spectroscopic analysis distinguishing shock and UV excitation mechanisms of H2 in bipolar PNe, extending findings to additional nebulae.

Findings

Shock excitation dominates in bipolar PNe with broad rings.

Bipolar PNe with narrow waists show UV excitation or shock excitation.

Brighter H2 emission correlates with shock excitation in ring nebulae.

Abstract

We present near-IR K-band intermediate-dispersion spatially-resolved spectroscopic observations of a limited sample of bipolar planetary nebulae (PNe). The spectra have been used to determine the excitation mechanism of the H2 molecule using standard line ratios diagnostics. The H2 molecule is predominantly shock-excited in bipolar PNe with broad equatorial rings, whereas bipolar PNe with narrow equatorial waists present either UV excitation at their cores (e.g., Hb 12) or shock-excitation at their bipolar lobes (e.g., M1-92). The shock-excitation among bipolar PNe with ring is found to be correlated with emission in the H2 1-0 S(1) line brighter than Br{\gamma}. We have extended this investigation to other PNe with available near-IR spectroscopic observations. This confirms that bipolar PNe with equatorial rings are in average brighter in H2 than in Br{\gamma} and show dominant shock excitation.