Related papers: Molecular processes from the AGB to the PN stage
Around half of the heavy elements in the universe are formed through the slow neutron capture (s-) process, which takes place in thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars with masses $1-6\;M_{\odot}$. The nucleosynthetic imprint…
The measurement of chemical abundances in planetary nebulae in nearby galaxies is now relatively straightforward. The challenge is to use these chemical abundances to infer the chemical evolution of their host galaxies. At this point, our…
When intermediate mass stars reach their last stages of evolution they show pronounced oscillations. This phenomenon happens when these stars reach the so-called Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB), which is a region of the Hertzsprung-Russell…
As mass-losing asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars evolve to planetary nebulae (PNe), the mass outflow geometries transform from nearly spherical to extreme aspherical. The physical mechanisms governing this transformation are widely…
We discuss the basic physical model and the relevant processes responsible for creating and shaping planetary nebulae out of a cool AGB wind envelope. We show that a hydrodynamical treatment along the upper AGB leads quite naturally to more…
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…
Recent high spatial resolution observations of gas and dust in the circumstellar envelopes (CSEs) of AGB stars indicate morphologies much more complex than the smooth density distributions generated by spherically symmetric, constant mass…
Stars on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) play important roles in a number of astronomical contexts. To quantify these roles, it is necessary to establish the mass-loss characteristics of stars as they evolve up and beyond the AGB. We used…
Interaction with the Interstellar Medium (ISM) cannot be ignored in understanding planetary nebula (PN) evolution and shaping. In an effort to understand the range of shapes observed in the outer envelopes of PNe, we have run a…
We discuss recent models of chemical evolution in the developing and collapsing protostellar envelopes associated with low-mass star formation. In particular, the effects of depletion of gas-phase molecules onto grain surfaces is…
One of the challenges for stellar astrophysics is to reach the point at which we can undertake reliable spectral synthesis of unresolved populations in young, star-forming galaxies at high redshift. Here I summarise recent studies of…
The physical processes driving the chemical evolution of galaxies in the last $\sim 11\, \rm{Gyr}$ cannot be understood without directly probing the dust-obscured phase of star-forming galaxies and active galactic nuclei. This phase, hidden…
The determination of chemical abundances in star-forming galaxies and the study of their evolution on cosmological timescales are powerful tools for understanding galaxy formation and evolution. This contribution presents the latest results…
The study of planetary nebulae (PNe) offers the opportunity of evaluating the efficiency of the dust production mechanism during the very late asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phases. We study the relationship between the properties of PNe,…
V510 Pup (IRAS 08005-2356) is a binary post-AGB system with a fast molecular outflow that has been noted for its puzzling mixture of carbon- and oxygen-rich features in the optical and infrared. To explore this chemical dichotomy and relate…
The envelope of thermally pulsing AGB stars undergoing periodic third dredge-up episodes is enriched in both light and heavy elements, the ashes of a complex internal nucleosynthesis involving p, alpha and n captures over hundreds of stable…
The embedded phase of star formation is the crucial phase where most of the stellar mass is assembled. Velocity-resolved spectra reveal an infalling envelope, bipolar outflows, and perhaps an infant circumstellar disk -- all locked together…
Contemporary galactic star formation occurs predominantly within gravitationally unstable, cold, dense molecular gas within supersonic, turbulent, magnetized giant molecular clouds (GMCs). Significantly, because the chemical evolution…
We have carried out a new photometric V,Rc study of 12 protoplanetary nebulae, objects in the short-lived transition between the AGB and PN phases of stellar evolution. These had been the subjects of an earlier study, using data from…
Astrochemistry lies at the nexus of astronomy, chemistry, and molecular physics. On the basis of precise laboratory data, a rich collection of more than 200 familiar and exotic molecules have been identified in the interstellar medium, the…