Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Apr 2003
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2003aps..apr.b2004b&link_type=abstract
American Physical Society, April Meeting, 2003, April 5-8, 2003 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, MEETING ID: APR03, abstract #B2.004
Mathematics
Logic
Scientific paper
Over 95% of all stars -- those less than eight solar masses at the time of formation -- have an inglorious destiny: a white dwarf core plus a ``planetary nebula'' ejected into the interstellar medium. Compared to massive stars, which die as spectacular supernovae, these plebeian stars slowly but methodically enrich the ISM with carbon, nitrogen and various types of dust grains. (The stellar mass return rate from planetary nebulae has dominated that of massive stars over cosmological history.) However, although theories of stellar evolution specify the process of mass loss from stars like the Sun, observations of planetary nebulae (PNe) reveal that other, as yet poorly characterized, processes determine the surprising geometry, mass, and momentum properties of the ejecta low-mass stars. The stunning, high-order symmetries observed in PNe and the flow collimation properties revealed by the Hubble Space Telescope argue for a highly orchestrated ejection mechanism which is, as yet, mysterious. I shall review the most likely shaping mechanisms, particularly the emergence of strong surface magnetic fields and the tidal influences of a putative close companion star, none of which provide a completely satisfactory explanation for the observations. Symptomatic similarities with some of the peculiar properties of supernovae will also be described.
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