Spectroscopic Survey of Faint Planetary-Nebula Nuclei. V. The EGB 6-Type Central Star of Abell 57

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Autores principales: Bond, Howard E., Chaturvedi, Akshat S., Ciardullo, Robin, Werner, Klaus, Zeimann, Gregory R., Siegel, Michael H.
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2024
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author Bond, Howard E.
Chaturvedi, Akshat S.
Ciardullo, Robin
Werner, Klaus
Zeimann, Gregory R.
Siegel, Michael H.
author_facet Bond, Howard E.
Chaturvedi, Akshat S.
Ciardullo, Robin
Werner, Klaus
Zeimann, Gregory R.
Siegel, Michael H.
contents During our spectroscopic survey of central stars of faint planetary nebulae (PNe), we found that the nucleus of Abell 57 exhibits strong nebular emission lines. Using synthetic narrow-band images, we show that the emission arises from an unresolved compact emission knot (CEK) coinciding with the hot (90,000 K) central star. Thus Abell 57 belongs to the rare class of "EGB 6-type" PNe, characterized by dense emission cores. Photometric data show that the nucleus exhibits a near-IR excess, due to a dusty companion body with the luminosity of an M0 dwarf but a temperature of ~1800 K. Emission-line analysis reveals that the CEK is remarkably dense (electron density ~1.6x10**7 cm**-3), and has a radius of only ~4.5 AU. The CEK suffers considerably more reddening than the central star, which itself is more reddened than the surrounding PN. These puzzles may suggest an interaction between the knot and central star; however, Hubble Space Telescope imaging of EGB 6 itself shows that its CEK lies more than ~125 AU from the PN nucleus. We discuss a scenario in which a portion of the AGB wind that created the PN was captured into a dust cloud around a distant stellar companion; this cloud has survived to the present epoch, and has an atmosphere photoionized by radiation from the hot central star. However, in this picture EGB 6-type nuclei should be relatively common, yet they are actually extremely rare; thus they may arise from a different transitory phenomenon. We suggest future observations of Abell 57 that may help unravel its mysteries.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2405_11087
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Spectroscopic Survey of Faint Planetary-Nebula Nuclei. V. The EGB 6-Type Central Star of Abell 57
Bond, Howard E.
Chaturvedi, Akshat S.
Ciardullo, Robin
Werner, Klaus
Zeimann, Gregory R.
Siegel, Michael H.
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
During our spectroscopic survey of central stars of faint planetary nebulae (PNe), we found that the nucleus of Abell 57 exhibits strong nebular emission lines. Using synthetic narrow-band images, we show that the emission arises from an unresolved compact emission knot (CEK) coinciding with the hot (90,000 K) central star. Thus Abell 57 belongs to the rare class of "EGB 6-type" PNe, characterized by dense emission cores. Photometric data show that the nucleus exhibits a near-IR excess, due to a dusty companion body with the luminosity of an M0 dwarf but a temperature of ~1800 K. Emission-line analysis reveals that the CEK is remarkably dense (electron density ~1.6x10**7 cm**-3), and has a radius of only ~4.5 AU. The CEK suffers considerably more reddening than the central star, which itself is more reddened than the surrounding PN. These puzzles may suggest an interaction between the knot and central star; however, Hubble Space Telescope imaging of EGB 6 itself shows that its CEK lies more than ~125 AU from the PN nucleus. We discuss a scenario in which a portion of the AGB wind that created the PN was captured into a dust cloud around a distant stellar companion; this cloud has survived to the present epoch, and has an atmosphere photoionized by radiation from the hot central star. However, in this picture EGB 6-type nuclei should be relatively common, yet they are actually extremely rare; thus they may arise from a different transitory phenomenon. We suggest future observations of Abell 57 that may help unravel its mysteries.
title Spectroscopic Survey of Faint Planetary-Nebula Nuclei. V. The EGB 6-Type Central Star of Abell 57
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.11087