Fast Winds in Planetary Nebulae

Abstract

A planetary nebula consists mainly of gas ejected slowly by a red giant. Its dynamics is dominated by the hot central star which is left behind later. In particular a fast wind from this star forms a bubble of hot gas which fills the inner part of the nebula and pushes the envelope into a shell. This shell remains only partly ionized for a considerable time. Its non-ionized part is subject to a Rayleigh-Taylor instability, and is expected to break up into fragments which remain behind in the HII part of the nebula.