Imaging polarimetry of pre- and post- main sequence objects

Abstract

In the first part of this thesis an automated polarimeter is described, and details are given of a dedicated CCD camera system based on a personal computer. The quality of the data produced by these instruments is demonstrated by the results presented in the succeeding chapters. Polarimetric observations of nebulae associated with two pre-MS objects, HH83/Rel7 and GL2591, and two post-MS objects, IRAS 07131-0147 and OH 231.8+4.2, are presented and discussed with reference to previous observations. In each case the location of the exciting source is determined and a simple model is described which explains the observed characteristics of the system. Both HH83/Rel7 and GL2591 are shown to be illuminated by nearby IRAS sources which have no optical counterparts. The nebula associated with HH83/Rel7 is caused by the reflection of radiation off the insides of the walls of a cavity excavated in the dark cloud by outflows from the IRS, and is crossed by a narrow unpolarised jet seen in emission-line radiation. The nebula associated with GL2591 is illuminated at optical wavelengths by both the IRS and a second, visible, source, and is composed of material ejected by the IRS in a discrete period of mass loss. IRAS 07131-0147 and OH 231.8+4.2 are shown to be stars which have evolved off the AGB and which will soon become the central stars of planetary nebulae. The protoplanetary nebulae which have formed as a result of the action of the fast stellar wind on the extended RGE around each star are bipolar and axially symmetric. The fast wind is shown to have ceased in the case of IRAS 07131-0147, but that related to OH 231.8+4.2 is still carrying material away from the star in a highly collimated fashion, producing narrow dusty filaments along the axes of the cavities. High levels of polarisation are measured in both nebulae, which indicates that the scattering particles are much smaller than those in the ISM.A brief comparison of the pre- and post-MS nebulae shows that the two phases of stellar evolution are linked by a number of observationally similar characteristics, and it is thought that similar processes may occur at opposite ends of the evolutionary track. Most notably, circumstellar discs appear to be common at various stages in the stellar life-cycle.