Numerical modeling of η Carinae bipolar outflows

In this paper, we present two-dimensional gasdynamic simulations of the formation and evolution of the eta Car bipolar outflows. Adopting the interacting nonspherical winds model, we have carried out high-resolution numerical simulations, which include explicitly computed time-dependent radiative cooling, for different possible scenarios of the colliding winds. In our simulations, we consider different degrees of nonspherical symmetry for the preoutburst wind and the great eruption of the 1840s produced by the eta Car wind. Different models show important differences in the shape and kinematical properties of the Homunculus structure. In particular, we search for the appropriate combination of wind parameters (which control the degree of nonspherical symmetry) to obtain the numerical results that best match both the observed morphology and the expansion velocity of the eta Car bipolar shell. In addition, our numerical simulations show the formation of a bipolar nebula embedded within the Homunculus (the little Homunculus) that developed from a secondary eruptive event suffered by the star in the 1890s, and also the development of tenuous, high-velocity ejections in the equatorial region that resulted from the impact of the eruptive wind of the 1840s with the preoutburst wind; these ejections could explain some of the high-speed features observed in the equatorial ejecta. The models were, however, unable to produce the equatorial ejections associated with the second eruptive event.