2009ApJ...707L...6R

Models of accretion disks around a star in a binary system predict that the disk will have a retrograde precession with a period a factor of ∼10 times the orbital period. If the star+disk system ejects a bipolar outflow, this outflow will be subject to the effects of both the orbital motion and the precession. We present an analytic, ballistic model and a three-dimensional gasdynamical simulation of a bipolar outflow from a source in a circular orbit, and with a precessing outflow axis. We find that this combination results in a jet/counterjet system with a small spatial scale, reflection-symmetric spiral (resulting from the orbital motion) and a larger-scale, point-symmetric spiral (resulting from the longer period precession). These results provide interesting possibilities for modeling specific Herbig-Haro jets and bipolar planetary nebulae.