Abstract
Planetary nebulae (PNe) are the latest addition to the zoo of X-ray sources. Be- sides the photospheric emission of hot central stars of PNe, Chandra and XMM- Newton observations have detected diffuse X-ray emission from shocked fast winds in PN interiors, providing support to the interacting-stellar-winds forma- tion models of PNe. New types of X-ray sources in PNe have also been found: (1) diffuse X-ray sources from bow-shocks of fast collimated outflows imping- ing on the nebular envelope, and (2) hard (�0.5 keV) X-ray point sources at the PN central stars originating from instability shocks in the fast stellar wind itself or from a low-mass companion's coronal activity. X-ray observations of PNe offer a unique opportunity to assess the dynamic effects of fast stellar winds and collimated outflows in PN formation and shaping. The distribution and phys- ical conditions of hot gas in PNe help us gain insight in similar astrophysical situations, e.g., bubbles and superbubbles blown by massive stars.
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