Complex wind dynamics and ionization structure in symbiotic binaries

Abstract

Aspects of the wind-dynamics in symbiotic binaries, colliding winds and accretion, are reviewed. Inconsistencies between theory and observations of the hot star wind are discussed. If the hot star wind were governed by CAK theory, nearly all symbiotics would be colliding wind binaries. For the case of colliding winds, 3D hydrodynamical simulations reveal that the matter distribution is spirally shaped. Shock confined high-density shells as well as huge voids are found even in the immediate neighborhood of the stars. Synthetic spectra computed on the basis of different 3D hydrodynamical models suggest observational discrimination between them to be possible. Colliding wind models also provide a link between symbiotics and planetary nebulae. Accretion during some time is a necessary condition for symbiotics to exist. However, there is no proof of whether currently accreting systems show the symbiotic phenomenon. Existing accretion models are inconsistent amongst each other, predicting either extended disks or small, high-density accretion wakes. Synthetic spectra allowing to discriminate between two models do not yet exist.