Outflowing Gas in the Planetary Nebula K 3-54

Abstract

As planetary nebulae (PNe) evolve, they develop slow and strong dust-driven stellar winds, making the joint study of dust and gas essential for understanding their nature. As a pilot investigation, we selected PN K 3-54 as our target, the only known PN in the Milky Way to exhibit infrared emission from both graphene (C${}_{24}$) and fullerene (C${}_{60}$). The gas is traced via molecular line emissions from ${}^{12}$CO, ${}^{13}$CO, and C${}^{18}$O ($J=1\to 0$), observed using the 13.7 m telescope of the Purple Mountain Observatory. We investigate the dynamics of this PN and identify a bipolar outflow. Preliminary results suggest that the large dynamical timescale of the outflow and the weak shock environment may account for the simultaneous survival of C${}_{24}$ and C${}_{60}$ within and around PN K 3-54.

Published in AJ. 15 pages, 3 figures, 1 table