Models of the Mass-Ejection Histories of pre Planetary Nebulae, III. The Shaping of Lobes by post-AGB Winds

TL;DR

This paper develops a hydrodynamical model to interpret the shaping of pre-planetary nebulae lobes by post-AGB winds, demonstrating that tapered, fast, light flows explain observed morphologies and kinematics.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive hydrodynamical framework for modeling prePNe lobe formation, including effects of magnetic fields, advancing understanding of nebular shaping mechanisms.

Findings

Tapered, fast, light flows shape candle-shaped lobes.

Linear Doppler-shift versus position relation is a robust outcome.

Magnetic fields can influence lobe morphology in certain cases.

Abstract

We develop a physical framework for interpreting high-resolution images of pre planetary nebule ("prePNe") with pairs of candle shaped lobes. We use hydrodynamical models to infer the historical properties of the flows injected from the nucleus that shape the lobes into standard forms. First, we find a suitable set of parameters of a fast, collimated, tapered flow that is actively reshaped by an exterior slow AGB wind and that nicely fits the basic shape, kinematics, mass, and momenta of this class of prePNe. Next we vary the most influential parameters of this "baseline" model-such as density, speed, and geometry-to see how changes in the flow parameters affect the nebular observables after 900y. Several generic conlusions emerge, such as the injected flows that create the hollow candle-shaped lobes must be light, "tapered", and injected considerably faster than the lobe expansion speed. Multi-polar and starfish prePNe probably evolve from wide angle flows in which thin-shell instabilites corrugate their leading edges. We show how the common linear relationship of Doppler shift and position along the lobe is a robust outcome the interaction of tapered diverging streamlines with the lobes' curved walls. Finally we probe how magnetic fields affect the basline model by adding a toroidal field to the injected baseline flow. Examples of prePNe and PNe that may have been magnetically shaped are listed. We conclude that the light, field-free, tapered baseline flow model is an successful and universal pardigm for unravelling the histories of lobe formation in prePNe.