Related papers: Molecular processes from the AGB to the PN stage
Since molecules are ubiquitous in space, the study of the 'Molecular Universe' could unfold the mystery of the existing Interstellar medium. Star formation is linked to the chemical evolution processes. Thus, an analysis of the formation of…
How does molecular complexity emerge and evolve during the process leading to the formation of a planetary system? Astrochemistry is experiencing a golden age, marked by significant advancements in the observation and understanding of the…
Over an interval of 120 years, the extraordinary object FG Sge has been transformed from a hot post-AGB star to a very luminous cool supergiant. Theoretically, this evolution has been associated with the reignition of a helium-shell during…
We study the evolution of extremely metal-poor AGB stars, with metallicities down to [Fe/H]=-5, to understand the main evolutionary properties, the efficiency of the processes able to alter their surface chemical composition and to…
Much of what we know about molecular clouds, and by extension star formation, comes from molecular line observations. Interpreting these correctly requires knowledge of the underlying molecular abundances. Simulations of molecular clouds…
Post-AGB stars evolve on a very fast track and hence not many are known. Their spectral properties make them, in principle, ideal objects to test our theories on the late phases of stellar evolution. This has, however, proven much more…
In the course of a systematic exploration of the uncertainties associated to the input micro- and macro-physics in the modeling of the evolution of intermediate mass stars during their Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) phase, we focus on the…
The role of planetary nebulae as probes for the galactic chemical evolution is reviewed. Their abundances throughout the Galaxy are discussed for key elements, in particular oxygen and other alpha elements. The abundance distribution…
The formation of silicates in circumstellar envelopes of stars evolving through the AGB is still debated given the uncertainties affecting stellar evolution modelling, the description of the dust formation process, and the capability of…
Many nucleosynthesis and mixing processes of low-mass stars as they evolve from the Main Sequence to the thermal-pulse Asymptotic Giant Branch phase (TP-AGB) are well understood (although of course important physics components, e.g.…
The recent discovery of terrestrial-type organic species such as methyl formate and dimethyl ether in the cold interstellar gas has proved that the formation of organic matter in the Galaxy begins at a much earlier stage of star formation…
We investigate the formation of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) in the inner circumstellar envelopes of thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch (TP-AGB) stars. A dynamic model for periodically shocked atmospheres, which includes an extended…
In this chapter the focus is on the properties of post-Asymptotic Giant Branch (post-AGB) stars in binary systems. Their Spectral Energy Distributions (SEDs) are very characteristic: they show a near-infrared excess, indicative of the…
The connection between AGB evolution of stellar populations and infrared vs. ultraviolet properties of the parent galaxies is reviewed relying on the updated lookout provided by population-synthesis theory. In particular, planetary-nebula…
I study some effects of aspherical mass loss during the last stages of the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) on the appearance of proto planetary nebulae (PNs) and young PNs. The aspherical mass loss can be small scale inhomogeneities, and/or…
The S-stars have been suggested to be a brief transitional phase as stars evolve from oxygen-rich M-type stars into carbon stars, through the dredge up of carbon from He-shell burning. As possible transition objects, S-stars might help…
Calculations from stellar evolutionary models of low- and intermediate-mass asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars provide predictions of elemental abundances and yields for comparison to observations. However, there are many uncertainties…
High-resolution spectroscopic observations of a hundred metal-poor Carbon and s-rich stars (CEMP-s) collected from the literature are compared with the theoretical nucleosynthesis models of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) presented in Paper I…
The earliest phases of the chemical evolution of our Galaxy are analysed in the light of the recent VLT results (concerning abundance patterns in the most metal-poor stars of the Galactic halo) and of stellar nucleosynthesis calculations.…
We present asymptotic giant branch (AGB) models of metallicity $Z=10^{-4}$ and $Z=3\times 10^{-4}$, with the aim of understanding how the gas enrichment and the dust production change in very metal-poor environments and to assess the…