Related papers: A possible solution to the mass-loss problem in M-…
We investigate the cosmological evolution of interstellar dust with a semi-analytical galaxy formation model ($\nu^2$GC), focusing on the evolution of grain size distribution. The model predicts the statistical properties of dust mass and…
The driving mechanism of the AGB superwind has become controversial in recent years. The efficacy of dust-driven mass loss has been queried. Spitzer observation of AGB stars in Local Group Galaxies show the surprising result that at low…
Mass loss is an important activity for red supergiants (RSGs) which can influence their evolution and final fate. Previous estimations of mass loss rates (MLRs) of RSGs exhibit significant dispersion due to the difference in method and the…
Studying absorption and scattering of X-ray radiation by interstellar dust grains allows us to access the physical and chemical properties of cosmic grains even in the densest regions of the Galaxy. We aim at characterising the dust…
Background: Most of the stars in the Universe will end their evolution by losing their envelope during the thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch (TP-AGB) phase, enriching the interstellar medium of galaxies with heavy elements,…
We report long-baseline interferometric measurements of circumstellar dust around massive evolved stars with the MIDI instrument on the Very Large Telescope Interferometer and provide spectrally dispersed visibilities in the 8-13 micron…
It is notoriously difficult to measure the winds of solar-type stars. Traditional spectroscopic and radio continuum techniques are sensitive to mass loss rates at least two to three orders of magnitude stronger than the Sun's relatively…
Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars are major contributors of cosmic dust to the universe. Typically, dust around AGB stars is investigated via radiative transfer (RT) modeling, or via simple deconstruction of observed spectra. However,…
The possibility that mass ejected during Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stellar evolution phases falls back towards the star has been suggested in applications ranging from the formation of accretion disks to the powering of late-thermal…
The broad 30 \mu m feature in carbon stars is commonly attributed to MgS dust particles. However, reproducing the 30 \mu m feature with homogeneous MgS grains would require much more sulfur relative to the solar abundance. Direct gas-phase…
Intermediate mass stars (1-8 solar masses) evolve along the Asymptotic Giant Branch after completion of hydrogen and helium core burning. At the tip they lose for several ten to hundred thousand years copious amounts of mass and exhibit…
[Abridged] In this paper we explore grain size effects on wind properties of carbon stars, using a generalized description of radiative cross sections valid for particles of arbitrary sizes. The purpose of the study is to investigate under…
We measure the integrated contributions of dusty AGB stars and other luminous red mid-IR sources to the mid-IR luminosities of 6 galaxies (M81, NGC 2403, NGC 300, M33 and the Magellanic Clouds). We find the dusty AGB stars whose mid-IR…
Silicate carbon stars show the 10 micron silicate emission, despite their carbon-rich photospheres. They are considered to have circumbinary or circum-companion disks, which serve as a reservoir of oxygen-rich material shed by mass loss in…
We present empirical relations describing excess emission from evolved stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) using data from the SAGE (Surveying the Agents of a Galaxy's Evolution) survey which includes the IRAC 3.6, 4.5, 5.8 and 8.0…
We review potential mass-loss mechanisms in the various evolutionary stages of massive stars, from the well-known line-driven winds of O-stars and BA-supergiants to the less-understood winds from Red Supergiants. We discuss optically thick…
Reliable predictions of mass-loss rates are important for massive-star evolution computations. We aim to provide predictions for mass-loss rates and wind-momentum rates of O-type stars, carefully studying the behaviour of these winds as…
The wavelength dependences of interstellar extinction and polarization, supplemented by observed elemental abundances and the spectrum of infrared emission from dust heated by starlight, strongly constrain dust models. One dust model that…
Context. Red supergiants are observed to undergo vigorous mass-loss. However, to date, no theoretical model has succeeded in explaining the origins of these objects' winds. This strongly limits our understanding of red supergiant evolution…
Asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars are known to lose a significant amount of mass by a stellar wind, which controls the remainder of their stellar lifetime. High angular-resolution observations show that the winds of these cool stars…