Appraising the Necklace: A post-common-envelope carbon dwarf inside an apparently carbon-poor planetary nebula

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Jones, David, Corradi, Romano L. M., Pérez, Gustavo A. García, Morisset, Christophe, García-Rojas, Jorge, Sabin, Laurence, Balick, Bruce, Wise, Jacob, Mampaso, Antonio, Munday, James, Rodríguez-Gil, Pablo, Rubio-Díez, María del Mar, Santander-García, Miguel, Sowicka, Paulina, Csukai, Alexander, Hillwig, Todd C., de la Fuente, Andrea Henderson, Terwel, Jacco H.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Jones, David
Corradi, Romano L. M.
Pérez, Gustavo A. García
Morisset, Christophe
García-Rojas, Jorge
Sabin, Laurence
Balick, Bruce
Wise, Jacob
Mampaso, Antonio
Munday, James
Rodríguez-Gil, Pablo
Rubio-Díez, María del Mar
Santander-García, Miguel
Sowicka, Paulina
Csukai, Alexander
Hillwig, Todd C.
de la Fuente, Andrea Henderson
Terwel, Jacco H.
author_facet Jones, David
Corradi, Romano L. M.
Pérez, Gustavo A. García
Morisset, Christophe
García-Rojas, Jorge
Sabin, Laurence
Balick, Bruce
Wise, Jacob
Mampaso, Antonio
Munday, James
Rodríguez-Gil, Pablo
Rubio-Díez, María del Mar
Santander-García, Miguel
Sowicka, Paulina
Csukai, Alexander
Hillwig, Todd C.
de la Fuente, Andrea Henderson
Terwel, Jacco H.
contents Context: The Necklace nebula is a bipolar, post-common-envelope planetary nebula, the central star of which has been shown to have a dwarf carbon star companion. Aims: We aim to understand the origins of the Necklace and its dwarf carbon central star. Methods: We study the carbon abundance of the nebula through far ultraviolet spectroscopy obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. Furthermore, through simultaneous modelling of multiband light and velocity curves, we attempt to constrain the parameters of the central star system. Results: Puzzlingly, we find that the region of the inner nebula observed with the Hubble Space Telescope is seemingly not carbon-rich, at odds with the dwarf carbon star nature of the companion of the central star. The initial mass of the nebular progenitor was likely very close to the limit to become carbon-rich, perhaps experiencing a very late thermal pulse. The dwarf carbon star companion is found to be significantly inflated with respect to that expected for an isolated main sequence star of the same mass. Conclusions: The properties of the central binary are consistent with the progenitor having become carbon-rich and its companion having accreted a significant amount of that carbon-enriched material. However, it is unclear how this evolutionary hypothesis can be reconciled with the inner nebula potentially being carbon poor.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_19382
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Appraising the Necklace: A post-common-envelope carbon dwarf inside an apparently carbon-poor planetary nebula
Jones, David
Corradi, Romano L. M.
Pérez, Gustavo A. García
Morisset, Christophe
García-Rojas, Jorge
Sabin, Laurence
Balick, Bruce
Wise, Jacob
Mampaso, Antonio
Munday, James
Rodríguez-Gil, Pablo
Rubio-Díez, María del Mar
Santander-García, Miguel
Sowicka, Paulina
Csukai, Alexander
Hillwig, Todd C.
de la Fuente, Andrea Henderson
Terwel, Jacco H.
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Context: The Necklace nebula is a bipolar, post-common-envelope planetary nebula, the central star of which has been shown to have a dwarf carbon star companion. Aims: We aim to understand the origins of the Necklace and its dwarf carbon central star. Methods: We study the carbon abundance of the nebula through far ultraviolet spectroscopy obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. Furthermore, through simultaneous modelling of multiband light and velocity curves, we attempt to constrain the parameters of the central star system. Results: Puzzlingly, we find that the region of the inner nebula observed with the Hubble Space Telescope is seemingly not carbon-rich, at odds with the dwarf carbon star nature of the companion of the central star. The initial mass of the nebular progenitor was likely very close to the limit to become carbon-rich, perhaps experiencing a very late thermal pulse. The dwarf carbon star companion is found to be significantly inflated with respect to that expected for an isolated main sequence star of the same mass. Conclusions: The properties of the central binary are consistent with the progenitor having become carbon-rich and its companion having accreted a significant amount of that carbon-enriched material. However, it is unclear how this evolutionary hypothesis can be reconciled with the inner nebula potentially being carbon poor.
title Appraising the Necklace: A post-common-envelope carbon dwarf inside an apparently carbon-poor planetary nebula
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.19382