Related papers: Barium Stars: Theoretical Interpretation
There are strong observational indications that the dense slow winds of cool luminous AGB stars are driven by radiative pressure on dust grains which form in the extended atmospheres resulting from pulsation-induced shocks. For carbon…
Dynamical stellar-evolution modeling through the AGB phase reveals that radial pulsations with very fast-growing amplitudes develop if the luminosity to mass ratio of stars with tenuous envelopes exceeds a critical limit. An instability…
We present stellar evolutionary tracks and nucleosynthetic predictions for a grid of stellar models of low- and intermediate-mass asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars at $Z=0.001$ ([Fe/H]$=-1.2$). The models cover an initial mass range from…
Barium stars are peculiar red giants characterized by an overabundance of s-process elements along with an enrichment in carbon. These stars are discovered in binaries with white dwarf companions. The more recently formed of these stars are…
Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars are good tracers of the Galactic structure. They are bright in the infrared and can therefore be detected even in the most obscured regions of the Galaxy. Maser emission from their circumstellar envelopes…
We construct a data base of 125 post-AGB objects (including R CrB and extreme helium stars) with published photospheric parameters (effective temperature and gravity) and chemical composition. We estimate the masses of the post-AGB stars by…
The late stellar evolutionary phases of low and intermediate-mass stars are strongly constrained by their mass-loss rates. The wind surrounding cool evolved stars frequently shows non-spherical features, thought to be due to an unseen…
We review the lives, deaths and nucleosynthetic signatures of intermediate mass stars in the range approximately 6.5-12 Msun, which form super-AGB stars near the end of their lives. We examine the critical mass boundaries both between…
Presolar SiC grains formed around Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars during their carbon-rich phase and contain heavy elements in trace amounts showing the signature of the slow neutron capture process (s process). Thanks to recent…
The main component of the s process is produced by low mass stars (between 1.5 and 3 Mo), when they climb for the second time the red giant branch and experience a series of He shell flashes called thermal pulses. During the relatively long…
I discuss recent new models of post-Asymptotic Giant Branch stellar evolution. These models aim to clarify the evolutionary origin and status of a variety of hydrogen-deficient post-AGB stars such as central stars of planetary nebulae of…
The stars in globular clusters are known to differ in their surface chemistry: the spectroscopic investigations in the last decades outlined the presence of star-to-star differences in the abundances of the light elements, up to aluminium…
The Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) is the terminal phase of red giant evolution with timescales of millions of years and a total mass lost from the star that is a significant fraction of the initial mass. Investigation of one of these stars,…
Oxygen and carbon-rich AGB stars - and objects directly polluted by them - are excellent laboratories to investigate the nucleosynthesis and mixing processes occurring during the later phases of the of low- and intermediate-mass star…
[Abridged] AGB stars are significant contributors to the metal enrichment of the interstellar medium. In this paper, we adapted models from advanced RHD simulations as input for radiative transfer software to create synthetic observables. A…
Current knowledge suggests that the dust-driven wind scenario provides a realistic framework for understanding mass loss from C-rich AGB stars. For M-type objects, however, recent detailed models demonstrate that radiation pressure on…
(abridged) We model the nucleosynthesis during the thermal pulse phase of a rotating, solar metallicity AGB star of 3M_sun. Rotationally induced mixing during the thermal pulses produces a layer (~2E-5M_sun) on top of the CO-core where…
Aluminium-26 is a radioactive isotope which can be synthesized within asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, primarily through hot bottom burning. Studies exploring $^{26}$Al production within AGB stars typically focus on single-stars;…
Thermally-Pulsing Asymptotic Giant Branch (TP-AGB) stars are relatively short lived (less than a few Myr), yet their cool effective temperatures, high luminosities, efficient mass-loss and dust production can dramatically effect the…
(abbreviated) We aim to constrain the dust formation histories in the winds of oxygen-rich AGB stars. We have obtained ALMA observations with a spatial resolution of 120x150 mas tracing the dust formation region of a low mass-loss rate and…