Related papers: Uncertainties in AGB Evolution and Nucleosynthesis
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…
The literature is rich in analysis and results related to thermally pulsing-asymptotic giant branch (TP-AGB) stars, but the problem of the instabilities that arise and cause the divergence of models during the late stages of their evolution…
Light and intermediate nuclei as well as s-process elements have been detected in presolar grains and in evolved red giants. The abundances of some of these nuclei cannot be accounted for by canonical stellar models and require…
In this last decade, our knowledge of evolutionary and structural properties of stars of different mass and chemical composition is significantly improved. This result has been achieved as a consequence of our improved capability in…
FUSE spectroscopy has proved that extremely hot hydrogen-deficient post-AGB stars (PG1159 stars) display matter on their surface that usually remains hidden in the region between the H- and He-burning shells of the former AGB star. Hence,…
Asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars with low initial mass (1 - 3 Msun) are responsible for the production of neutron-capture elements through the main s-process (main slow neutron capture process). The major neutron source is 13C(alpha,…
More than half of the dust and heavy element enrichment in galaxies originates from the winds and outflows of evolved, low-to-intermediate mass stars on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB). However, numerous details of the physics of…
Understanding the nucleosynthesis and evolution of Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars is of primary importance as they are the main producers of some of the key elements in the Universe. They are the predominant sites for the slow…
Nucleosynthesis in the s process takes place in the He burning layers of low mass AGB stars and during the He and C burning phases of massive stars. The s process contributes about half of the element abundances between Cu and Bi in solar…
In this paper we study the evolution of 7Li in the Galaxy considering the contributions of various stellar sources: type II supernovae, novae, red giant stars, and asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. We present new results for the…
Properties of atomic nuclei important for the prediction of astrophysical reaction rates are reviewed. In the first part, a recent simulation of evolution and nucleosynthesis of stars between 15 and 25 solar masses is presented. This study…
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 role of carbon stars in the build-up of chemical elements in galaxies is discussed on the basis of stellar evolution calculations and estimated stellar yields, abundance analyses of AGB stars, galactic-evolution models and abundance…
We discuss velocity variations in different layers of an AGB star's atmosphere. Periodic and nonperiodic changes are observed. From a large sample of data we derive mean velocity curves for miras and semiregular variables.
We study the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) evolution of stars with masses between $1~M_{\odot} - 8.5~M_{\odot}$. We focus on stars with a solar chemical composition, which allows us to interpret evolved stars in the Galaxy. We present a…
We present what we know on nucleosynthesis in the Universe and hypotheses that have been made in this regard. A brief description of the Universe's evolution during its different stages is offered, indicating which are the periods and…
The S-type stars are believed to have a C/O-ratio close to unity (within a few percent). They are considered to represent an intermediate evolutionary stage as AGB stars evolve from oxygen-rich M-type stars into carbon stars. As possible…
Barium (Ba) stars help to verify asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star nucleosynthesis models since they experienced pollution from an AGB binary companion and thus their spectra carry the signatures of the slow neutron capture process (s…
Deep X-ray surveys are providing crucial information on the evolution of AGN and galaxies. We review some of the latest results based on the X-ray spectral analysis of the sources detected in the Chandra Deep Field South, namely: i)…
Super-AGB stars can conclude their evolution either as neon-oxygen white dwarfs or as electron-capture supernovae. We discuss the possible consequences of the existence of this "double final fate" in the self-enrichment of globular clusters…