Related papers: A Grand Challenge for Planetary Nebulae
The shaping of the nebula is currently one of the outstanding unsolved problems in planetary nebula (PN) research. Several mechanisms have been proposed, most of which require a binary companion. However, direct evidence for a binary…
Post-asymptotic giant branch (post-AGB) binaries are surrounded by massive disks of gas and dust that are similar to protoplanetary disks around young stars. We assembled a catalog of all known Galactic post-AGB binaries with disks. We…
Most planetary nebulae (PNe) show beautiful, axisymmetric morphologies despite their progenitor stars being essentially spherical. Close binarity is widely invoked to help eject an axisymmetric nebula, after a brief phase of engulfment of…
The fates of planetary systems provide unassailable insights into their formation and represent rich cross-disciplinary dynamical laboratories. Mounting observations of post-main-sequence planetary systems necessitate a complementary level…
A significant fraction of planetary nebulae (PNe) and proto-planetary nebulae (PPNe) exhibit aspherical, axisymmetric structures, many of which are highly collimated. The origin of these structures is not entirely understood, however recent…
It is now clear that a binary evolutionary pathway is responsible for a significant fraction of all planetary nebulae, with some authors even going so far as to claim that binarity may be a near requirement for the formation of an…
It is widely believed that central star binarity plays an important role in the formation and evolution of aspherical planetary nebulae, however observational support for this hypothesis is lacking. Here, we present the most recent results…
Low- and intermediate mass stars experience a significant mass loss during the last phases of their evolution, which obscures them in a vast, dusty envelope. Although it has long been thought this envelope is generally spherically symmetric…
We perform numerical simulations to investigate the stellar wind from interacting binary stars. Our aim is to find analytical formulae describing the outflow structure. In each binary system the more massive star is in the asymptotic giant…
Proto-planetary nebulae (pPN) and planetary nebulae (PN) seem to be formed by interacting winds from asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. The observational issue that most pPN are bipolar but most older PN are elliptical is addressed. We…
Despite numerous efforts, the transition from Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars to Planetary Nebulae (PN) is a poorly understood phase of stellar evolution. We have therefore carried out interferometric (VLA) radio observations of a…
The common envelope interaction is responsible for evolved close binaries. Among them are a minority of central stars of planetary nebula (PN). Recent observational results, however, point to most PN actually being in binary systems. We…
This paper explores the effects of post-AGB winds driven solely by magnetic pressure from the stellar surface. It is found that winds can reach high speeds under this assumption, and lead to the formation of highly collimated…
Interaction with the Interstellar Medium (ISM) cannot be ignored in understanding planetary nebula (PN) evolution and shaping. In an effort to understand the range of shapes observed in the outer envelopes of PNe, we have run a…
I review some open questions and other aspects concerning the shaping of planetary nebulae (PNs) and related objects. I attribute the non-spherical structures of PNs to binary companions, stellar or substellar. I emphasize the role of jets…
In 1997 Soker laid out a framework for understanding the formation and shaping of planetary nebulae (PN). Starting from the assumption that non-spherical PN cannot be formed by single stars, he linked PN morphologies to the binary…
The Post Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) phase is arguably one of the least understood phases of the evolution of low- and intermediate- mass stars. The two grids of models presently available are based on outdated micro- and macro-physics…
Planetary nebulae retain the signature of the nucleosynthesis and mixing events that occurred during the previous AGB phase. Observational signatures complement observations of AGB and post-AGB stars and their binary companions. The…
Binary central stars have long been invoked to explain the vexing shapes of planetary nebulae (PNe) despite there being scant direct evidence to support this hypothesis. Modern large-scale surveys and improved observing strategies have…
During the past 20 years, the idea that non-spherical planetary nebulae (PN) may need a binary or planetary interaction to be shaped was discussed by various authors. It is now generally agreed that the varied morphologies of PN cannot be…