Investigation of the recombination of the retarded shell of "born-again" CSPNe by time-dependent radiative transfer models

Abstract

A standard planetary nebula stays more than 10 000 years in the state of a photoionized nebula. As long as the timescales of the most important ionizing processes are much smaller, the ionization state can be characterized by a static photoionization model and simulated with codes like CLOUDY (Ferland et al. 1998). When the star exhibits a late helium flash, however, its ionizing flux stops within a very short period. The star then re-appears from its opaque shell after a few years (or centuries) as a cold giant star without any hard ionizing photons. Describing the physics of such behavior requires a fully time-dependent radiative transfer model. Pollacco (1999), Kerber et al. (1999) and Lechner & Kimeswenger (2004) used data of the old nebulae around V605 Aql and V4334 Sgr to derive a model of the pre-outburst state of the CSPN in a static model. Their argument was the long recombination time scale for such thin media. With regard to these models Schönberner (2008) critically raised the question whether a significant change in the ionization state (and thus the spectrum) has to be expected after a time of up to 80 years, and whether static models are applicable at all. © 2012 International Astronomical Union.