Related papers: The nebula around the binary post-AGB star 89 Herc…
The outflows of oxygen-rich asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars are thought to be driven by radiation pressure by photon scattering on grains with sizes of tenths of microns. The details of the formation of dust in the extended atmospheres…
We present AKARI/IRC and Spitzer/IRS observations of a selected sample of galactic IRAS sources considered to be heavily obscured AGB/post-AGB stars based on their characteristic IRAS colours. All of them are completely invisible in the…
The Mass loss of Evolved StarS (MESS) sample offers a selection of 78 Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars and Red Supergiants (RSGs) observed with the PACS photometer on-board Herschel at 70 and 160 {\mu}m. For most of these objects, the…
By tracing the distribution of cool dust in the extended envelopes of post-AGB stars and (proto)-planetary nebulae ((P)PNe) we aim to recover, or constrain, the mass loss history experienced by these stars in their recent past. The…
Planetary nebulae retain the signature of the nucleosynthesis and mixing events that occurred during the previous AGB phase. Observational signatures complement observations of AGB and post-AGB stars and their binary companions. The…
We present Herschel Space Observatory photometric observations of the unique, long-period eclipsing binary star Epsilon Aurigae. Its extended spectral energy distribution is consistent with our previously published cool (550 K) dust disk…
High-resolution infrared spectroscopy in the 2.3-4.6 micron region is reported for the peculiar A supergiant, single-lined spectroscopic binary HR 4049. Lines from the CO fundamental and first overtone, OH fundamental, and several H2O…
The planetary nebula TS 01 (also called PN G 135.9+55.9 or SBS 1150+599A), with its record-holding low oxygen abundance and its double degenerate close binary core (period 3.9 h), is an exceptional object located in the Galactic halo. We…
Observations of increasingly higher spatial resolution reveal the existence of asymmetries in the circumstellar envelopes of a small fraction of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. Although there is no general consensus for their origin, a…
The elemental abundances of ten planetary nebulae, derived with high accuracy including ISO and IUE spectra, are analysed with the aid of synthetic evolutionary models for the TP-AGB phase. Model prescriptions are varied until we achieve…
Post-AGB binaries are surrounded by circumbinary disks of gas and dust that are similar to protoplanetary disks found around young stars. We aim to understand the structure of these disks and identify the physical phenomena at play in their…
An analysis of high-resolution near-infrared spectra of a sample of 45 asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars towards the Galactic bulge is presented. The sample consists of two subsamples, a larger one in the inner and intermediate bulge, and…
We present nucleosynthesis predictions (HeCNOCl) from asymptotic giant branch (AGB) models, with diffusive overshooting from all the convective borders, in the metallicity range Z/4 < Z < 2Zsun. They are compared to recent precise nebular…
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…
The mass loss experienced on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) at the end of the lives of low- and intermediate-mass stars is widely accepted to rely on radiation pressure acting on dust grains formed in the extended AGB atmospheres. The…
We analyse the 2-dimensional distribution and kinematics of the stars as well as molecular and ionised gas in the central few hundred parsecs of 5 active and 5 matched inactive galaxies. The equivalent widths of the Br-gamma line indicate…
The determination of heavy element abundances from planetary nebula (PN) spectra provides an exciting opportunity to study the nucleosynthesis occurring in the progenitor asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star. We perform post-processing…
To better understand the mixing and mass loss experienced by low-mass stars as they ascend the asymptotic giant branch (AGB), I have gathered from the literature the abundances of CNO and s-process elements in post-AGB stars in Galactic…
(Abridged) The evolution of low- and intermediate-initial-mass stars beyond the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) remains poorly understood. High-velocity outflows launched shortly after the AGB phase are thought to be the primary shaping…
Although the majority of known binary Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars are symbiotic systems (i.e. with a WD as a secondary star), main-sequence companions of AGB stars can be more numerous, even though they are more difficult to find…