We present a study of Hen 2-155 and Hen 2-161, two planetary nebulae which bear striking morphological similarities to other planetary nebulae known to host close-binary central stars. Both central stars are revealed to be photometric variables while
spectroscopic observations confirm that Hen 2-155 is host to a double-eclipsing, post-common-envelope system with an orbital period of 3h33m making it one of the shortest period binary central stars known. The observations of Hen 2-161 are found to be consistent with a post-common-envelope binary of period ~1 day. A detailed model of central star of Hen 2-155, is produced, showing the nebular progenitor to be a hot, post-AGB remnant of approximately 0.62 Msol, consistent with the age of the nebula, and the secondary star to be an M dwarf whose radius is almost twice the expected ZAMS radius for its mass. In spite of the small numbers, all main-sequence companions, of planetary nebulae central stars, to have had their masses and radii constrained by both photometric and spectroscopic observations have also been found to display this inflation. The cause of the inflation is uncertain but is probably related to rapid accretion, immediately before the recent common-envelope phase, to which the star has not yet thermally adjusted. The chemical composition of both nebulae is also analysed, showing both to display elevated abundance discrepancy factors. This strengthens the link between elevated abundance discrepancy factors and close binarity in the nebular progenitor.
Symbiotic stars display absorption lines of a cool red giant together with emission lines of a nebula ionized by a hotter star, indicative of an active binary star system in which mass transfer is occurring. PIONIER at the VLT has been used to combin
e the light of four telescopes at a time to study in unprecedented detail how mass is transferred in symbiotic stars. The results of a mini-survey of symbiotic stars with PIONIER are summarised and some tentative general results about the role of Roche lobe overflow are presented.
Using the PIONIER visitor instrument that combines the light of the four Auxiliary Telescopes of ESOs Very Large Telescope Interferometer, we measure precisely the diameters of several symbiotic and related stars: HD 352, HD 190658, V1261 Ori, ER Del
, FG Ser, and AG Peg. These diameters - in the range of 0.6 to 2.3 milli-arcseconds - are used to assess the filling factor of the Roche lobe of the mass-losing giants and provide indications on the nature of the ongoing mass transfer. We also provide the first spectroscopic orbit of ER Del, based on CORAVEL and HERMES/Mercator observations. The system is found to have an eccentric orbit with a period of 5.7 years. In the case of the symbiotic star FG Ser, we find that the diameter is changing by 13% over the course of 41 days, while the observations of HD 352 are indicative of an elongation. Both these stars are found to have a Roche filling factor close to 1, as is most likely the case for HD 190658 as well, while the three other stars have factors below 0.5-0.6. Our observations reveal the power of interferometry for the study of interacting binary stars - the main limitation in our conclusions being the poorly known distances of the objects.
It is now clear that a binary formation pathway is responsible for a significant fraction of planetary nebulae, and this increased sample of known binaries means that we are now in a position to begin to constrain their influence on the formation and
evolution of their host nebulae. Here, we will review current understanding of how binarity influences the resulting nebulae, based on observations and modelling of both the central binary systems and the planetary nebulae themselves. We will also highlight the most important test-cases which have proved the most interesting in studying the evolution of binaries into and through the planetary nebula phase.
We performed a detailed spectroscopic analysis of the dwarf nova V2051 Oph at the end of its 1999 superoutburst. We studied and interpreted the simultaneous behaviour of various emission lines. We obtained high-resolution echelle spectroscopic data
at ESOs NTT with EMMI, covering the spectral range of 4000--7500 Angstrom. The analysis was performed using standard IRAF tools. The indirect imaging technique of Doppler tomography was applied, in order to map the accretion disc and distinguish between the different emission sources. The spectra are characterised by strong Balmer emission, together with lines of HeI and the iron triplet FeII 42. All lines are double-peaked, but the blue-to-red peak strength and central absorption depth vary. The primarys velocity was found to be 84.9 km/sec. The spectrograms of the emission lines reveal the prograde rotation of a disc-like emitting region and, for the Balmer and HeI lines, an enhancement of the red-wing during eclipse indicates a bright spot origin. The modulation of the double-peak separation shows a highly asymmetric disc with non-uniform emissivity. This is confirmed by the Doppler maps, which apart from the disc and bright spot emission also indicate an additional region of enhanced emission in the 4th quadrant (+Vx, -Vy), which we associate with the superhump light source. Given the behaviour of the iron triplet and its distinct differences from the rest of the lines, we attribute its existence to an extended gas region above the disc. Its origin can be explained through the fluorescence mechanism.
