VLA continuum and OH line emission observations of the compact nebulaVy 2-2.

When fitted to a model, the presently reported VLA continuum observations at 1.465, 4.885, and 14.965 GHz of the compact nebula Vy 2-2 indicate that the thermal radio emission originates in a comparatively thin spherical shell of ionized gas having a radius of 0.2 arcsec, an electron temperature of 14,000 K, and an rms density of more than 1,000,000/cu cm. OH line emission observations of the nebula appear superposed on the edge of the shell. These observations together suggest that the ionization occurs in a thin, ionization-bounded shell at the inner edge of a molecular cloud surrounding the central star, with dust in the neutral cloud probably being the IR emission source in this object, as is consistent with the hypothesis that Vy 2-2 is a young planetary nebula with an incompletely ionized shell. Significant radio-emitting shell evolution may be detectable in a few years.