Related papers: Maser Studies in Evolved Stars
New observations are presented of millimetre line emissions of the circumstellar envelope (CSE) of AGB star $\chi$ Cygni using the recently upgraded NOEMA array. $\chi$ Cygni is an S-type Mira variable, at the border between oxygen-rich and…
The pumping of 22.2-GHz H$_2$O masers in the circumstellar envelopes of asymptotic giant branch stars has been simulated numerically. The physical parameters adopted in the calculations correspond to those of the circumstellar envelope…
Observations at long wavelengths, in the wide interval from a few to 1000 micron, are essential to study diffuse media in galaxies, including all kinds of atomic, ionic and molecular gases and dust grains. Hence they are particularly suited…
Circumstellar imaging, across the electromagnetic spectrum, allows to derive fundamental diagnostics for the physics of mass loss in the AGB phase. I review the current status of the field, with particular emphasis on the techniques that…
We aim to (1) set up simple and general analytical expressions to estimate mass-loss rates of evolved stars, and (2) from those calculate estimates for the mass-loss rates of asymptotic giant branch (AGB), red supergiant (RSG), and yellow…
The mass loss properties of carbon AGB stars are not very well constrained at present. A variety of empirical or theoretical formulae with different parameterisations are available in the literature and the agreement between them is…
Imagine we could do asteroseismology of large samples of OB-type stars by using just one spectrum per target. That would be great! But this is probably a crazy and stupid idea. Or maybe not. Maybe we have the possibility to open a new…
The infrared represents an alternative wavelength regime in which to study the environments of maser emission, while at the same time complementing the information obtained through radio techniques. The near infrared (1-2 microns) yields…
As part of a reanalysis of galactic Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars at infrared (IR) wavelengths, we discuss a sample (357) of carbon stars for which mass loss rates, near-IR photometry and distance estimates exist. For 252 sources we…
We study the conditions for operation of the 22 GHz ortho-water maser in a dusty medium near late-type stars. The main physical processes, such as exchange of energy between dust and gas in the radiation field of a star, radiative cooling…
The Thermally-Pulsating Asymptotic Giant Branch (TP-AGB) phase of stellar evolution has received attention only recently in galaxy evolution, but is now an important player in our understanding of how galaxies form and evolve. Because it is…
The 25 years following the serendipitous discovery of megamasers have seen tremendous progress in the study of luminous extragalactic H$_2$O emission. Single-dish monitoring and high resolution interferometry have been used to identify…
High spectral-resolution Br-gamma VLTI/AMBER observations of classical Be stars reveal complex visibility, phase, and closure phase profiles, which were not seen in previous lower-resolution data. They present new challenges for the…
The combination of huge databases of galaxy spectra and advances in evolutionary synthesis models in the past few years has renewed interest in an old question: How to estimate the star formation history of a galaxy out of its integrated…
The S-type stars are believed to have a C/O-ratio close to unity (within a few percent). They are considered to represent an intermediate evolutionary stage as AGB stars evolve from oxygen-rich M-type stars into carbon stars. As possible…
Observations of the high redshift Universe, interpreted in the context of a new generation of computer simulated model Universes, are providing new insights into the processes by which galaxies and quasars form and evolve, as well as the…
Owing to the remarkable photometric precision of space observatories like Kepler, stellar and planetary systems beyond our own are now being characterized en masse for the first time. These characterizations are pivotal for endeavors such…
Distances to AGB stars with optically thick circumstellar shells cannot be determined using optical parallaxes. However, for stars with OH 1612 MHz maser emission emanating from their circumstellar shells, distances can be determined by the…
Through polarization observations, circumstellar masers are excellent probes of the magnetic field in the envelopes of late-type stars. Whereas observations of the polarization of the SiO masers close to the star and on the OH masers much…
Despite theoretical predictions of the existence of many submillimeter masers, and some pioneering observational discoveries over the past few decades, these lines have remained relatively unstudied due to (i) challenges associated with…