Abstract

Morpho-kinematic modeling of planetary nebulae (PNe) is important in reconstructing the three-dimensional structure and dynamics of PNe in an effort to understand their formation histories. Here, we present a flexible, modular method for 3D morpho-kinematic modeling of spatial–spectral mapping observations of PN molecular line emission. We show how a combination of basic geometric elements (an ellipsoid for the main nebula, an ellipsoidal mask for a lack of emission or cavity, and an elliptical ring for extended emission) can effectively reproduce the basic geometries and kinematics of the molecular emission regions of PNe, thereby providing constraints on key PNe parameters, including expansion velocity, physical size, and (hence) dynamical age. We apply PyPVNe to SMA and ALMA CO data cubes obtained for the PNe NGC 6720, NGC 3132, and Hubble 5. The results demonstrate the potential of our simple morpho-kinematic modeling methodology to investigate the origins and structural evolution of these and other molecule-rich PNe.

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