Panchromatic HST/WFC3 Imaging Studies of Young, Rapidly Evolving Planetary Nebulae. II. NGC 7027

Abstract

The iconic planetary nebula (PN) NGC 7027 is bright, nearby (D ~ 1 kpc), highly ionized, intricately structured, and well observed. This nebula is hence an ideal case study for understanding PN shaping and evolution processes. Accordingly, we have conducted a comprehensive imaging survey of NGC 7027 comprised of twelve HST Wide Field Camera 3 images in narrow-band and continuum filters spanning the wavelength range 0.243--1.67 microns. The resulting panchromatic image suite reveals the spatial distributions of emission lines covering low-ionization species such as singly ionized Fe, N, and Si, through H recombination lines, to more highly ionized O and Ne. These images, combined with available X-ray and radio data, provide the most extensive view of the structure of NGC 7027 obtained to date. Among other findings, we have traced the ionization structure and dust extinction within the nebula in sub-arcsecond detail; uncovered multipolar structures actively driven by collimated winds that protrude through and beyond the PN's bright inner core; compared the ionization patterns in the WFC3 images to X-ray and radio images of its interior hot gas and to its molecular outflows; pinpointed the loci of thin, shocked interfaces deep inside the nebula; and more precisely characterized the central star. We use these results to describe the recent history of this young and rapidly evolving PN in terms of a series of shaping events. This evolutionary sequence involves both thermal and ram pressures, and is far more complex than predicted by extant models of UV photoionization or winds from a single central progenitor star, thereby highlighting the likely influence of an unseen binary companion.

ApJ, in press; 26 pages, 13 figures, 2 tables

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Cited by in corpus (9)

• Mapping NGC 7027 in New Light: CO${}^{+}$ and HCO${}^{+}$ Emission Reveal Its Photon- and X-ray-Dominated Regions
• Identifying jittering-jet-shaped ejecta in the Cygnus Loop supernova remnant
• Simulating the shaping of point-symmetric structures in the jittering jets explosion mechanism
• PAH Spectral Diversity in NGC 7027 and the Evolution of Aromatic Carriers
• Chemistry and ro-vibrational excitation of HeH${}^{+}$ in the Planetary Nebula NGC 7027
• Emerging planetary nebulae within 3D spiral patterns
• Deep survey of millimeter RRLs towards the planetary nebulae IC 418 and NGC 7027
• Current Unsolved Problems in Planetary Nebulae Research
• [Fe II] 1.644$\mu$m imaging survey of planetary nebulae with low-ionisation structures