On the formation of ansae in planetary nebulae

Formation mechanisms for the two optical bright knots in planetary nebulae, 'ansae', are investigated. Adiabatic two-dimensional numerical simulations of the interacting winds flow at early stages of the planetary nebulae evolution are performed. It is found that no real focusing of the shocked fast wind material toward the symmetry axis occurs, and thus the interaction of winds by itself will not form the ansae. A model is proposed, in which jets from the central star form the ansae. These jets are presumably being formed during the few hundred years in the period between the end of the slow wind and the beginning of the fast wind. It is shown that a companion to the progenitor red giant can lead to the degree of asymmetry observed in elliptical planetary nebulae.