Shaping planetary nebulae with jets in inclined triple stellar systems

Abstract

We conduct three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of two opposite jets launched obliquely to the orbital plane around an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star and within its dense wind, and demonstrate the formation of a `messy' planetary nebula (PN), namely, a PN lacking any type of symmetry (highly irregular). In building the initial conditions we assume that a tight binary system orbits the AGB star, and that the orbital plane of the tight binary system is inclined to the orbital plane of the binary system and the AGB star (the triple system plane). We further assume that the accreted mass on to the tight binary system forms an accretion disk around one of the stars, and that the plane of the disk is tilted to the orbital plane of the triple system. The highly asymmetrical and filamentary structure that we obtain support the notion that messy PNe might be shaped by triple stellar systems.