Jets and the shaping of the giant bipolar envelope of the planetary nebula KjPn 8

Abstract

A hydrodynamic model involving cooling gas in the stagnation region of a collimated outflow is proposed for the formation of the giant parsec-scale bipolar envelope that surrounds the planetary nebula KjPn 8. Analytical calculations and numerical simulations are presented to evaluate the model. The envelope is considered to consist mainly of environmental gas swept-up by shocks driven by an episodic, collimated, bipolar outflow. In this model, which we call the "free stagnation knot" mechanism, the swept-up ambient gas located in the stagnation region of the bow shock cools to produce a high-density knot. This knot moves along with the bow shock. When the central outflow ceases, pressurization of the interior of the envelope stops and its expansion slows down. The stagnation knot, however, has sufficient momentum to propagate freely farther along the axis, producing a distinct nose at the end of the lobe. The model is found to reproduce successfully the peculiar shape and global kinematics of the giant bipolar envelope of KjPn 8. © 1998. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.