Probing the Molecular Hearts of Extreme Bipolar Planetary Nebulae with ALMA

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Main Authors: Baez, Paula Moraga, Kastner, Joel H., Bublitz, Jesse, Alcolea, Javier, Santander-Garcia, Miguel, Forveille, Thierry, Hily-Blant, Pierre, Balick, Bruce, Montez Jr, Rodolfo
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Baez, Paula Moraga
Kastner, Joel H.
Bublitz, Jesse
Alcolea, Javier
Santander-Garcia, Miguel
Forveille, Thierry
Hily-Blant, Pierre
Balick, Bruce
Montez Jr, Rodolfo
author_facet Baez, Paula Moraga
Kastner, Joel H.
Bublitz, Jesse
Alcolea, Javier
Santander-Garcia, Miguel
Forveille, Thierry
Hily-Blant, Pierre
Balick, Bruce
Montez Jr, Rodolfo
contents We present results from a program of Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) 1.3 mm (Band 6) molecular line mapping of a sample of nearby, bipolar/pinched-waist, molecule-rich PNe (NGC 6302, Hubble 5, NGC 2440, NGC 6445, NGC 2899, and NGC 2818). Maps of $^{12}$CO(2$-$1) and $^{13}$CO(2$-$1) emission as well as emission lines of HCN, HNC, HCO$^+$, CN, and CS $-$ many of these detected in these PNe for the first time $-$ reveal the molecular mass distributions, compositions, and velocity fields of the equatorial and, in some cases, polar regions of the sample PNe. In each case, the bulk of the molecular gas traces an expanding equatorial torus, with torus expansion velocities ranging from $\sim$15 to $\sim$50 km s$^{-1}$ and molecular masses from $\sim$0.002 to $\sim$0.1 $M_\odot$. The inferred molecular torus dynamical ages, which span the range $\sim$500 yr (Hb 5) to $\sim$11000 yr (NGC 2818), provide support for a model wherein molecular torus ejection precedes bipolar lobe formation. Collectively, these ALMA survey results provide insight into the rapid structural evolution as well as the zones of irradiated molecular gas within bipolar PNe that are descended from relatively massive progenitors, likely residing in interacting binary systems, over $\sim$10 kyr of the post-AGB evolution of such systems.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_08790
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Probing the Molecular Hearts of Extreme Bipolar Planetary Nebulae with ALMA
Baez, Paula Moraga
Kastner, Joel H.
Bublitz, Jesse
Alcolea, Javier
Santander-Garcia, Miguel
Forveille, Thierry
Hily-Blant, Pierre
Balick, Bruce
Montez Jr, Rodolfo
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
We present results from a program of Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) 1.3 mm (Band 6) molecular line mapping of a sample of nearby, bipolar/pinched-waist, molecule-rich PNe (NGC 6302, Hubble 5, NGC 2440, NGC 6445, NGC 2899, and NGC 2818). Maps of $^{12}$CO(2$-$1) and $^{13}$CO(2$-$1) emission as well as emission lines of HCN, HNC, HCO$^+$, CN, and CS $-$ many of these detected in these PNe for the first time $-$ reveal the molecular mass distributions, compositions, and velocity fields of the equatorial and, in some cases, polar regions of the sample PNe. In each case, the bulk of the molecular gas traces an expanding equatorial torus, with torus expansion velocities ranging from $\sim$15 to $\sim$50 km s$^{-1}$ and molecular masses from $\sim$0.002 to $\sim$0.1 $M_\odot$. The inferred molecular torus dynamical ages, which span the range $\sim$500 yr (Hb 5) to $\sim$11000 yr (NGC 2818), provide support for a model wherein molecular torus ejection precedes bipolar lobe formation. Collectively, these ALMA survey results provide insight into the rapid structural evolution as well as the zones of irradiated molecular gas within bipolar PNe that are descended from relatively massive progenitors, likely residing in interacting binary systems, over $\sim$10 kyr of the post-AGB evolution of such systems.
title Probing the Molecular Hearts of Extreme Bipolar Planetary Nebulae with ALMA
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.08790