Molecular line mapping of (young) planetary nebulae

Abstract

In this contribution, I will review recent results obtained from high-resolution observations of molecular emission of planetary nebulae in the millimeter and submillimeter waves, stressing the easy interpretation of the data and the great amount of quantitative results obtained from them. Radio interferometers have been shown to be very efficient in the observation of our objects and, particularly since the arrival of ALMA, the amount of results is becoming impressive. We will deal mainly with young planetary nebulae or protoplanetary nebulae, since, as we will see, molecular lines tend to be weak in evolved objects because of photodissociation. In relatively young nebulae, the molecular gas represents most of the nebular material and can be well observed in line emission in mm- and submm-waves. Those observations have yielded many quantitative and accurate results on the structure, dynamics, and physical conditions of this largely dominant nebular component. In more evolved sources, we can follow the evolution of the chemical composition, although the data become rare.