Jets in Planetary Nebulae

At the end of the 20th century, we thought we had a solid understanding of how low-mass stars evolved into planetary nebulae. However, by studying the stages leading up to these nebulae, we discovered a puzzle: the energy needed to form them was too large to be explained by traditional models.
This revelation led us to explore a more complex scenario: the interaction of binary stars. The gravitational energy and angular momentum of these stellar systems could provide the additional force needed to drive the formation of nebulae.

In this talk, we will explore the exciting consequences of this new perspective, such as the evolution of binary systems in which stars share a common envelope and the formation of powerful jets of stellar material.