Related papers: Classifying the secondary component of the binary …

We calculated theoretical evolutionary sequences of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, including formation and evolution of dust grains in their circumstellar envelope. By considering stellar populations of the Large Magellanic Cloud…

Post-asymptotic giant branch (post-AGB) stars are known to be chemically diverse. In this paper we present the first observational evidence of a star that has failed the third dredge-up (TDU). J005252.87-722842.9 is a A-type ($T_{\rm eff}$…

V1387 Aql (the optical companion to the microquasar GRS1915+105) is a low mass giant. Such star consists of a degenerate, nearly isothermal helium core and a hydrogen rich envelope. Both components are separated by an hydrogen burning…

Binarity is believed to dramatically affect the history and geometry of mass loss in AGB and post-AGB stars, but observational evidence of binarity is sorely lacking. As part of a project to look for hot binary companions to cool AGB stars…

We have obtained spectra of the W Sgr system with the STIS spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope. The spectra resolve the system into a distant companion B which is the hottest star in the system and the spectroscopic binary (A = Aa +…

Galactic globular clusters (GCs) are known to host multiple stellar populations: a first generation with a chemical pattern typical of halo field stars and a second generation (SG) enriched in Na and Al and depleted in O and Mg. Both…

We present new Spitzer/IRAC observations of 55 dusty Long Period Variables (LPVs, 48 AGB and 6 RSG stars) in the Galaxy that have different chemistry, variability type, and mass-loss rate. O-rich AGB stars (including intrinsic S-type) tend…

We investigate the population of cool, evolved stars in the Local Group dwarf elliptical galaxy M32, using Infrared Array Camera observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope. We construct deep mid-infrared colour-magnitude diagrams for the…

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…

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…

We find that $\sim 15-20$ per cent of A-type stars or red giants are bound with a massive companion ($M_{\rm secondary} > 1M_{\odot}$) in an intermediate wide orbit ($0.5<P<5000\mbox{ yr}$). These massive binaries are expected to form…

Direct I and V-band imaging of Aql X-1 in quiescence and during outburst maximum shows that the true optical counterpart is the interloper located 0.48" West of the previously known star. We find for the new counterpart V = 21.6 and V-I =…

Close companions influence stellar evolution through tidal interactions, mass transfer, and mass loss effects. While such companions are detected around young stellar objects, main-sequence stars, red giants, and compact objects, direct…

The abundances of the slow neutron-capture (s-) process elements observed in barium stars can be explained by considering mass transfer in a binary system from an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star onto a smaller mass and less evolved…

We present asymptotic giant branch (AGB) models of solar metallicity, to allow the interpretation of observations of Galactic AGB stars, whose distances should be soon available after the first release of the Gaia catalogue. We find an…

The star ASAS J174600-2321.3 was found to exhibit peculiar photometric variability (conspicuous brightening of about 4 magnitudes (V), fast luminosity declines, intrinsic pulsations). It was rejected as an RCB candidate in recent…

We present in this paper a study on the peculiar supergiant HD172481. Its spectral type (F2Ia), high galactic latitude (b=-10.37), circumstellar dust, high radial velocity and moderate metal deficiency ([Fe/H]=-0.55) confirm the post-AGB…

56 UMa is a wide binary system that contains a chemically peculiar red giant and a faint companion. Due to its surface chemical abundances, the red giant was classified as a barium (Ba) star. This implies that the companion has to be a…

Asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars lose their envelopes by means of a stellar wind whose driving mechanism is not understood well. Characterizing the composition and thermal and dynamical structure of the outflow provides constraints that…

The integrated luminosity of the TP-AGB phase is a major uncertainty in stellar population synthesis models. We use the white dwarf initial final mass relation and stellar interiors models to demonstrate that a significant fraction of the…