Related papers: Supergiants transiting towards white dwarf
NLTE spectral analyses of high-gravity central stars by means of state-of-the-art model atmosphere techniques provide information about the precursor AGB stars. The hydrogen-deficient post-AGB stars allow investigations on the intershell…
A considerable number of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars exhibit UV excess and/or X-ray emission that indicates a binary companion. AGB stars are so bright that they easily outshine their companions. This almost prevents their…
The post-main sequence evolution of stars of intermediate or large masses is notoriously complex. In the recent past, a number of workshops and meetings have focused on either the Asymptotic Giant Branch of intermediate mass stars, or the…
The Thermally-Pulsating Asymptotic Giant Branch (TP-AGB) phase of stellar evolution has received attention only recently in galaxy evolution, but is now an important player in our understanding of how galaxies form and evolve. Because it is…
In seven billion years, the Sun will be dead. As stars like the Sun pass from their present state to that of a dead white dwarf star, they undergo two phases of extremely high luminosity and radius -- the red giant branch and the asymptotic…
We discuss and illustrate contributions that optical interferometry has made on our current understanding of cool evolved stars. We include red giant branch (RGB) stars, asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, and red supergiants (RSGs).…
We present a new grid of stellar model calculations for stars on the Asymptotic Giant Branch between 1.0 and 6.0 M_sun. Our grid consists of 5 chemical mixtures between Z=0.0005 and Z=0.04, with both solar-like and $\alpha$-element enhanced…
We review recent advances in our understanding of massive stars through the analysis of their spectra. Improvements in model atmospheres and analysis methods are briefly discussed. Results obtained for stars in the Local Group are compared…
We present the results of a narrow-band infrared imaging survey of a narrow strip (12' wide) around the galactic equator between 6 deg and 21 deg of galactic longitude aimed at detecting field stars with strong CO absorption, mainly…
In this paper we discuss the impact of the s-process nucleosynthesis in Asymptotic Giant Branch stars on the enrichment of heavy elements. We review the main steps made on this subject in the last 40 years and discuss the importance of…
I present a broad historical review on cool white dwarf stars with carbon and/or oxygen detected at the photosphere. This book chapter covers the observational signatures, physical properties, and evolution of DQ, DBQ and Hot DQ white…
We present near-infrared spectra for a sample of galaxies with ambiguous optical emission line ratios. These galaxies fall between starbursts and Seyferts in the usual optical diagnostic diagrams. We find a similar result with the…
Dating the ages and weighting the stellar populations in galaxies are essential steps when studying galaxy formation through cosmic times. Evolutionary population synthesis models with different input physics are used for this purpose.…
We review some of the characteristics of irradiated extrasolar giant planets (EGPs), in anticipation of their direct detection from the ground and from space. Spectral measurements are the key to unlocking their structural and atmospheric…
We present simulations of the accretion of a massive planet or brown dwarf by an AGB star. In our scenario, close planets will be engulfed by the star, spiral-in and be dissipated in the ``accretion region'' located at the bottom of the…
S stars are transition objects between M-type giants and carbon stars on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB). They are characterized by overabundances of s-process elements. Roughly half of them are enhanced in technetium (Tc), an s-process…
We present a detailed spectroscopic investigation, spanning four winters, of the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star IRAS 02091+6333. Zijlstra & Weinberger (2002) found a giant wall of dust around this star and modelled this unique…
Lithium and zirconium abundances (the latter taken as representative for s-process enrichment) are determined for a large sample of massive Galactic O-rich AGB stars, for which high resolution optical spectroscopy has been obtained…
We discuss the properties of a small sample of Seyfert 2 galaxies whose X-ray spectrum changed appearance on time scales of years, becoming reflection-dominated from Compton-thin, or viceversa. A reflection--dominated spectrum is usually…
In this paper we present the first results of the analysis of intermediate resolution ($\Delta\lambda \sim 3.5 \AA$) spectra of giants of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy acquired using the ESO NTT telescope. From the deep CCD photometry of…