Related papers: A WISE view on extreme AGB stars

During their evolution, Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars experience a high mass-loss which leads to the formation of a Circumstellar Envelope (CSE) of dust and gas. The mass-loss process is the most important phenomenon during this…

It is now about 30 years ago that photometric and spectroscopic surveys of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in the Magellanic Clouds (MCs) uncovered the first examples of truly massive (> 3-4 M_s) O-rich AGB stars experiencing hot bottom…

We have conducted a near-infrared monitoring campaign at the UK InfraRed Telescope (UKIRT), of the Local Group spiral galaxy M33 (Triangulum). The main aim was to identify stars in the very final stage of their evolution, and for which the…

In order to determine the composition of the dust in the circumstellar envelopes of oxygen-rich asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars we have computed a grid of modust radiative-transfer models for a range of dust compositions, mass-loss…

In this series of papers we have presented the results of a spectroscopic survey of luminous and variable stars in the nearby spirals M31 and M33. In this paper, we present spectroscopy of 132 additional luminous stars, variables, and…

Through matches with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) catalogue we identify the location of various families of astronomical objects in WISE colour space. We identify reliable indicators that separate Galactic/local from extragalactic…

Stars with masses between roughly 1 and 8~$M_\odot$ end their lives on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB), when intense mass loss takes place. The outflows are generally accepted to be driven by radiation pressure acting on dust grains that…

Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs) are enigmatic, evolved, massive stars. Their variability has been observed to be episodic with large eruptions, along with variations on time-scales of days to decades. We have extracted light curves of 37…

The carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratio of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars constitutes an important index of evolutionary and environment/metallicity factor. We develop a method for mass C/O classification of AGBs in photometric surveys…

Low and intermediate mass stars lose a significant fraction of their mass through a dust-driven wind during the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) phase. Recent studies show that winds from late-type stars are far from being smooth. Mass-loss…

The DUSTiNGS survey (DUST in Nearby Galaxies with Spitzer) is a 3.6 and 4.5 micron imaging survey of 50 nearby dwarf galaxies designed to identify dust-producing Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars and massive stars. Using two epochs,…

In this paper we present radial velocity curves of AGB variables that exhibit various kinds of anomalies: Semiregular variables (SRVs) with typical mira periods, SRVs exceeding the mira 2.5 mag amplitude limit, miras with secondary maxima…

Among over 200,000 Galactic Bulge variable stars in the public domain OGLE catalogue, we found over 15,000 red giant variables following two well defined period -- amplitude relations. The periods are in the range 10 < P < 100 days, and…

Luminous blue variables (LBVs) exhibit unique variability features, characterized by episodic outbursts ($>$1 mag) accompanied by spectroscopic changes (S Dor variables). It is debated if all massive stars undergo an LBV-like phase during…

Low- and intermediate-mass stars on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) account for a significant portion of the dust and chemical enrichment in their host galaxy. Here we present ALMA observations of the continuum emission at 1.24 mm around…

Variable OH/IR stars are Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars with an optically thick circumstellar envelope that emit strong OH 1612 MHz emission. They are commonly observed throughout the Galaxy but also in the LMC and SMC. Hence, the…

The initial conditions for the mass loss during the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase are set in their extended atmospheres, where, among others, convection and pulsation driven shocks determine the physical conditions. High resolution…

Long Period Variable stars are ubiquitous among the bright red giant branch stars in NGC 5128. Mostly they are found to be brighter than the tip of the first ascent giant branch with magnitudes ranging from about K=19 to K=21.5. They have…

New B, V, I photometry was obtained for a sample of 152 variables (125 RR Lyrae's, 4 anomalous Cepheids, 11 classical Cepheids, 11 eclipsing binaries and a delta Scuti star) in two regions near the bar of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC).…

(abridged) The 68000 I-band light curves of variable stars detected by the OGLE survey in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (MCs) are fitted by Fourier series, and also correlated with the DENIS and 2MASS databases and with lists of…