The central star of the planetary nebula LMC-N66: a massive accreting white dwarf?
M. Pena1 and W.-R. Hamann2
The central star of the PN LMC-N66 showed an impressive outburst in 1993 -
1994, returning to its initial conditions about 8 years later. Its
spectrum resembles that of a WN4.5 star, being the only confirmed central
star of planetary nebulae showing such a spectral type. Recent analysis
for the central star parameters, performed by Hamann et al. (2003) is
presented. They have found that the bolometric luminosity increased by a
factor larger than 6, during the outburst. We discuss the possible
scenarios which have been proposed to explain the exceptional stellar
parameters and the outburst mechanism. The stellar characteristics and the
morphology and kinematics of the planetary nebula suggest the presence of
binary system (massive star with a less massive companion or, a white
dwarf accreting matter in a close-binary system). These cases pose the
least severe contradictions with observational constraints.
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