Polarized Line Profiles in Planetary Nebulae

There is much direct and indirect evidence for the presence of dust in Planetary Nebulae (PN): variations in extinction across the face of the nebulae; IR emission with strong 25 and 60μm fluxes; broad near-IR emission lines of Silicate, SiC and PAH grains; optically thick lines, such as [C IV]1550Å, have lower strength on account of the increased path length due to dust scattering; a centro-symmetric pattern of polarization vectors in a few PN (Leroy et al., A&A, 160, 171, 1986). An observational programme has begun to study the polarization profiles of bright emission lines in PN arising from dust scattering within the nebulae. The first results are discussed.