THE EMISSION NEBULA Sh 2-174: A RADIO INVESTIGATION OF THE SURROUNDING REGION
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Okanagan College, 583 Duncan Avenue West, Penticton, BC V2A 8E1 (Canada)
- National Research Council Herzberg, Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory, P.O. Box 248, Penticton, BC V2A 6J9 (Canada)
Sh 2-174 is believed to be either a planetary nebula (PN) or ionized, ambient interstellar medium (ISM). We present in this paper 1420 MHz polarization, 1420 MHz total intensity (Stokes-I), and neutral hydrogen (H I) images of the region around Sh 2-174. The radio images address not only the nature of the object, but also the history of the relationship between Sh 2-174 and its surrounding environment. The H I images show that Sh 2-174 sits presently at the center of a ∼1.°2 × ∼0.°4 cloud (with peak hydrogen density n {sub H} = 4 ± 2 cm{sup –3}). The Stokes-I image shows thermal-emission peaks (with electron densities n{sub e} = 11 ± 3 cm{sup –3}) coincident with the R-band optical nebula, as well as low-surface-brightness emission from an ionized ''halo'' around Sh 2-174 and from an ionized ''plateau'' extending southeast from the cloud. The polarization images reveal Faraday-rotation structures along the projected trajectory of Sh 2-174, including a high-contrast structure with ''arms'' that run precisely along the eastern edge of the H I cloud and a wide central region that merges with the downstream edge of Sh 2-174. The high-contrast structure is consistent with an ionized tail that has both early-epoch (before Sh 2-174 entered the cloud) and present-epoch (after Sh 2-174 entered the cloud) components. Furthermore, our rotation-measure analysis indicates that the ISM magnetic field is deflected at the leading edge of Sh 2-174. The downstream tail and upstream field deflection point to a PN-ISM interaction. Our estimated space velocity for the host white dwarf (GD 561) demonstrates that Sh 2-174 entered the cloud ∼27,000 yr ago, and gives a PN-ISM interaction timescale ≲ 2.0 × 10{sup 5} yr. We estimate an ambient magnetic field in the cloud of 11 ± 3 μG.
- OSTI ID:
- 22364326
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 799, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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