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Harvard ADS: The Molecular Exoskeleton of the Ring-like Planetary Nebula NGC 3132

Paper abstract: We present Submillimeter Array (SMA) mapping of ^{12}CO J=2\rightarrow 1, ^{13}CO J=2\rightarrow 1, and CN N=2\rightarrow 1 emission from the Ring-like planetary nebula (PN) NGC 3132, one of the subjects of JWST Early Release Observation (ERO) near-infrared imaging. The ~5'' resolution SMA data demonstrate that the Southern Ring's main, bright, molecule-rich ring is indeed an expanding ring, as opposed to a limb-brightened shell, in terms of its intrinsic (physical) structure. This suggests that NGC 3132 is a bipolar nebula viewed more or less pole-on (inclination ~15--30^\circ). The SMA data furthermore reveal that the nebula harbors a second expanding molecular ring that is aligned almost orthogonally to the main, bright molecular ring. We propose that this two-ring structure is the remnant of an ellipsoidal molecular envelope of ejecta that terminated the progenitor star's asymptotic giant branch evolution and was subsequently disrupted by a series of misaligned fast, collimated outflows or jets resulting from interactions between the progenitor and one or more companions.