Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2006-09-17
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Submitted to ApJ, 10pp, 6 Figs
Scientific paper
We show that the inclination to the line of sight of bipolar nebulae strongly affects some of their observed properties. We model these objects as having a spherically symmetric Planetary Nebula and a dusty equatorial density enhancement that produces extinction that varies with the viewing angle. Our sample of 29 nebulae taken from the literature shows a clear correlation between the inclination angle and the near-IR and optical photometric properties as well as the apparent luminosity of the objects. As the inclination angle increases --the viewing angle is closer to the equatorial plane-- the objects become redder, their average apparent luminosity decreases, and their average projected expansion velocity becomes smaller. We compute two-dimensional models of stars embedded in dusty disks of various shapes and compositions and show that the observed data can be reproduced by disk-star combinations with reasonable parameters. To compare with the observational data, we generate sets of model data by randomly varying the star and disk parameters within a physically meaningful range. We conclude that a only a smooth pole to equator density gradient agrees with the observed phenomena and that thin, equatorially concentrated disks can be discarded.
Monteiro Hektor
Peterson Ryan
Schwarz Hugo E.
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