Poster abstract details

The role of central star binarity in the shaping of planetary nebulae has been the subject of much debate, with single stars believed to be incapable of producing the most highly collimated morphologies. However, observational support for binary-induced shaping has been sadly lacking. Here, I will present the most recent results of a continuing programme to spatio-kinematically model the morphologies of all PNe known to contain a close binary central star. Spatio-kinematical modelling is imperative for these objects, as it circumvents the degeneracy between morphology and orientation which can adversely affect determinations of morphology based on imaging alone. Furthermore, spatio-kinematical modelling accurately determines the orientation of the nebular shell, allowing the theoretically predicted perpendicular alignment, between nebular symmetry axis and binary orbital plane, to be tested. To date, every PN subjected to this investigation has displayed the predicted alignment, indicating that central star binarity has played an important role in the formation and evolution of these nebulae (e.g. Mitchell et al. 2007; Jones et al. 2010; Tyndall et al. 2011; Jones et al. 2011). The further results from this programme will be key, not only in determining whether binary interaction is responsible for shaping the studied PNe, but also the importance of binary-induced shaping in the formation and evolution of PNe in general.