Molecular Shells in IRC+10216: Evidence for Nonisotropic and Episodic Mass-Loss Enhancement

We report high angular resolution VLA observations of cyanopolyyne molecules HC₃N and HC₅N from the carbon rich circumstellar envelope of IRC+10216. The observed low-lying rotational transitions trace a much more extended emitting region than seen in previous observations at higher frequency transitions. We resolve the hollow quasi-spherical distribution of the molecular emissions into a number of clumpy shells. These molecular shells coincide spatially with dust arcs seen in deep optical images of the IRC+10216 envelope, allowing us to study for the first time the kinematics of these features. We find that the molecular and dust shells represent the same density enhancements in the envelope separated in time by ~120 to ~360 yr. From the angular size and velocity spread of the shells, we estimate that each shell typically covers about 10% of the stellar surface at the time of ejection. The distribution of the shells seems to be random in space. The good spatial correspondence between HC₃N and HC₅N emissions is in qualitative agreement with a recent chemical model that takes into account the presence of density-enhanced shells. The broad spatial distribution of the cyanopolyyne molecules, however, would necessitate further study on their formation.