The Red Rectangle
The Red Rectangle is a very intriguing post-AGB nebula which is powered by its central binary star HD 44179.
The term "Red Rectangle" was coined by Martin Cohen and Mike Merrill back in 1973, because of the distinctive appearance of HD44179 on
red plate of the Palomar Sky Survey. Since then, it has remained a popular target, thanks to the many remarkable phenomena it
displays over a very wide wavelength range. Despite 30 years of research, there is yet much to be learned from this star in its
final evolotionary phase. In this web-page we bundle in chronological
order, the scientific papers of the IvS on, or related to, this enigmatic object. The figures act as trailers for
the publication. Click on the figures to see a larger version.
Contact Person: Hans Van Winckel
The Press Releases of 11 May 2004 and associated links:
Release of the European Coordination Facility of the Hubble Space Telescope
The Nasa release
Hydrodynamical Simulations of the Red Rectangle outflow by Vincent Icke
Coverage by space.com
Coverage by CNN
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Coverage by Campuskrant
Coverage by ScienceDaily
Coverage by SpaceDaily
Coverage by NBC
Coverage by KDKA
Coverage by KCM
Coverage by Astromart
Coverage by Florida Today
Coverage by Discovery Channel
Coverage by SpaceRef
Our HST work on the Red Rectangle revealing grant details of the spectacular
nebula was published in :
Cohen M., Van Winckel H., Bond H.E., Gull T.R., 2004, AJ 127, 2362
How does the Red Rectangle fit into our ideas of post-AGB evolution ?
A review on post-AGB stars that appeared in Annual Review of Astronomy
and Astrophysics:
Van Winckel H., 2003, ARA&A 41, 39
A detailed study of the Extended Red Emission which is resposible for
Red appearance of the Red Rectangle. The Diffuse Insterellar Band
connection to the fine structure features on the broad ERE is strengtened
by the detection of more possible DIB carriers in the Red Rectangle. Published as :
Van Winckel H., Cohen M., Gull T.R., 2002, A&A 390, 147
Our ISO-SWS data revealed that the disc in the Red Rectangle is oxygen rich, with evidence for strong silicate dust grain processing.
The nebula itself is a notorious carbon rich nebula. We show that the the circumbinary disc must be older than anticipated and was probably formed when the current
evolved F-star was a giant on the AGB (or even RGB). This paper appeared in Nature :
Waters L.B.F.M., Cami J., de Jong T.,
Molster F.J., van Loon J., Bouwman J., de Koter A., Waelkens C., Van Winckel H., Morris P.W., 1998, Nature 391, 868
A more detailed study of the binary inside the Red Rectangle. The visual
light is variable in phase with the orbital motion while the
colour variation is grey. Published in:
Waelkens C., Van Winckel H., Waters L.B.F.M., 1996, A&A 314, 17
Discovery of the binary in the Red Rectangle. The period is about
320 days while the eccentricity is remarkably high (e=0.37). Published in:
Van Winckel H., Waelkens C.,
Waters L.B.F.M., 1995, A&A 293, 25
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The extremely low iron content of several post-AGB stars is due to a chemical process in the circumstellar environment. The photospheres are depleted of refractory chemical elements so the low iron abundances found in these stars do not reflect the initial chemical conditions. Published in:
Van Winckel H., Mathis J.S., Waelkens C., 1992, Nature 356, 500
The central star of the Red Rectangle was found to be one of the most iron deficient objects in the sky.
Waelkens C., Van Winckel H., Trams N.R., Waters L.B.F.M.,1992, A&A 256, 15
Other links:
ADS search on HD 44179
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