Intermediate- and high-resolution optical spectroscopy on the nascent planetary nebula Vy 2-2: Evidence of binary-star evolution
Abstract
Planetary nebulae (PNe) tend to show spectacular non-spherical shapes whose origin is not fully understood. Crucial information about PNe formation can be obtained by studying their very first stages. We present and analyze new intermediate- and échelle high-resolution spectra of the nascent PN Vy 2-2 to obtain its chemical abundances and a new value for its controversial Abundance Discrepancy Factor (ADF), investigate the internal kinematics and ionization of the nebula, and infer its possible formation processes. Our intermediate resolution spectra reveal many previously unreported nebular recombination (e.g., N+) and forbidden (e.g., [F IV]) emission lines as well as stellar emission lines. Some of the newly detected nebular lines are important to determine the ADF. The derived abundances are subsolar and agree with previous values, while the new value of the ADF(O2+)=13.6±2.6 indicates that Vy 2-2 belongs to the group of PNe with unusually high ADF. Our morphokinematical and ionization structure analysis reveals that Vy 2-2 consists of a relatively high-excitation central region and two low-excitation bipolar lobes. Our data does not show significant shock excitation in the main ionized shell of this PN. A distance of ~1.68 kpc to Vy 2-2 is obtained from the published angular expansion of the central region and its expansion velocity in H+. The inferred kinematical age of ~210 yr supports that Vy 2-2 is a nascent PN. The stellar emission lines suggest a wels-like spectrum although more likely associated with an irradiated close companion than with the central star. Actually, the unusually high ADF, the observed nebular structures, presence of F, among others, point to Vy 2-2 hosting a post-common-envelope binary system. Chemical abundances and circumstellar mass estimates suggest an initial mass ≲0.9 M⊙ for the star progenitor of Vy 2-2.
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BibTeX
@misc{cala2026intermediate,
title = {{Intermediate- and high-resolution optical spectroscopy on the nascent planetary nebula Vy 2-2: Evidence of binary-star evolution}},
author = {Roldán A. Cala and Luis F. Miranda and José F. Gómez and Lucero Uscanga and J. Ricardo Rizzo},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.21988},
eprint = {2610.21988},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.21988},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Intermediate- and high-resolution optical spectroscopy on the nascent planetary nebula Vy 2-2: Evidence of binary-star evolution
AU - Roldán A. Cala
AU - Luis F. Miranda
AU - José F. Gómez
AU - Lucero Uscanga
AU - J. Ricardo Rizzo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.21988
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.21988
AB - Planetary nebulae (PNe) tend to show spectacular non-spherical shapes whose origin is not fully understood. Crucial information about PNe formation can be obtained by studying their very first stages. We present and analyze new intermediate- and échelle high-resolution spectra of the nascent PN Vy 2-2 to obtain its chemical abundances and a new value for its controversial Abundance Discrepancy Factor (ADF), investigate the internal kinematics and ionization of the nebula, and infer its possible formation processes. Our intermediate resolution spectra reveal many previously unreported nebular recombination (e.g., N^+) and forbidden (e.g., [F IV]) emission lines as well as stellar emission lines. Some of the newly detected nebular lines are important to determine the ADF. The derived abundances are subsolar and agree with previous values, while the new value of the ADF(O^2+)=13.6±2.6 indicates that Vy 2-2 belongs to the group of PNe with unusually high ADF. Our morphokinematical and ionization structure analysis reveals that Vy 2-2 consists of a relatively high-excitation central region and two low-excitation bipolar lobes. Our data does not show significant shock excitation in the main ionized shell of this PN. A distance of ~1.68 kpc to Vy 2-2 is obtained from the published angular expansion of the central region and its expansion velocity in H^+. The inferred kinematical age of ~210 yr supports that Vy 2-2 is a nascent PN. The stellar emission lines suggest a wels-like spectrum although more likely associated with an irradiated close companion than with the central star. Actually, the unusually high ADF, the observed nebular structures, presence of F, among others, point to Vy 2-2 hosting a post-common-envelope binary system. Chemical abundances and circumstellar mass estimates suggest an initial mass ≲0.9 M_⊙ for the star progenitor of Vy 2-2.
ER -