Line Formation of Raman-Scattered He II $\lambda$ 4851 in an Expanding Spherical H I Shell in Young Planetary Nebulae

TL;DR

This study models the formation of Raman-scattered He II lines in expanding spherical H I shells of young planetary nebulae, revealing asymmetric profiles and efficiency enhancements related to shell expansion and source line width.

Contribution

It introduces a new Monte Carlo simulation considering H I density variation, providing detailed line profile predictions for Raman scattering in expanding nebular shells.

Findings

Asymmetric double-peaked line profiles with tertiary peaks are produced.

Peak separation correlates with shell expansion velocity.

Raman conversion efficiency increases with expansion speed.

Abstract

We investigate line formation of Raman-scattered He II at 4851 in an expanding neutral spherical shell that surrounds a point-like He II source located at the center. A new grid-based Monte Carlo code is used to take into consideration the H I density variation along each photon path. In the case of a monochromatic He II emission source, the resultant line profiles are characterized by an asymmetric double peak structure with a tertiary peak and a significant red tail that may extend to line centers of He II$\lambda$4859 and H$\beta$. The peak separation corresponds to the expansion velocity, which we consider is in the range $20-40{\rm\ km\ s^{-1}}$ in this work. Tertiary red peaks are formed as a result of multiple Rayleigh reflections at the inner surface of a hollow spherical shell of \ion{H}{1}. Due to a sharp increase of scattering cross section near resonance, the overall Raman conversion efficiency is significantly enhanced as the expansion speed increases. In the case of a He II line source with a Gaussian line profile with a full width at half maximum of $30 - 70{\rm\ km\ s^{-1}}$, we obtain distorted redward profiles due to increasing redward cross section of H I. A simple application to the young planetary nebula IC 5117 is consistent with a neutral shell expanding with a speed $\sim 30{\rm\ km\ s^{-1}}$.