Related papers: Clues to PPN Chemical Evolution: The Unique Molecu…
The spectroscopic binary system HD 66051 (V414 Pup) consists of a highly peculiar CP3 (HgMn) star and an A-type component. It also shows out-of-eclipse variability that is due to chemical spots. This combination allows the derivation of…
Circumstellar envelopes (CEs) around evolved stars are an active site for the production of molecules. After evolving through the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB), proto-planetary nebula (PPN), to planetary nebula (PN) phases, CEs ultimately…
The circumstellar envelopes of carbon-rich AGB stars show a chemical complexity that is exemplified by the prototypical object IRC +10216, in which about 60 different molecules have been detected to date. Most of these species are carbon…
This study presents optical and near-infrared photometric observations, alongside mid-infrared spectroscopic data from the ISO SWS instrument, to examine potential correlations between Aromatic Infrared Band (AIB) features and the optical…
A long-standing enigma in observational astronomy is the identification of the so-called 21 $\mu$m feature in a subset of envelopes of post-asymptotic giant branch (post-AGB) stars. Identifying this transient feature is important for…
Current models predict that binary interactions are a major ingredient for the formation of bipolar planetary nebulae (PNe) and pre-planetary nebulae (PPNe). Despite years of radial velocity (RV) monitoring, the paucity of known binaries…
We have monitored over a ten-year interval the light variations of five evolved stars with very large mid-infrared excesses. All five objects appear to have oxygen-rich or mixed oxygen-rich and carbon-rich chemistries. They all vary in…
We present ISO LWS observations of the proto-planetary nebula CRL 618, a star evolving very fast to the planetary nebula stage. In addition to the lines of 12CO, 13CO, HCN and HNC, we report on the detection of H2O and OH emission together…
We investigate the development of bipolar outflows during the early post-AGB evolution. A sample of ten OH/IR stars is observed at high angular resolution, including bipolar nebulae (OH231.8+4.2), bright post-AGB stars (HD 101584) and…
Structural and chemical changes during the AGB and post-AGB evolution are discussed with respect to two recent observational and theoretical findings. On the one hand, high-resolution infrared observations revealed details of the dynamical…
We analyze the chemical composition of the planetary nebula (PN) NGC 5315, through high-resolution (R = 40000) optical spectroscopy with UVES at the Very Large Telescope, and medium-resolution (R = 4800) near-infrared spectroscopy with FIRE…
We have carried out mid-infrared spectroscopy of seven Galactic proto-planetary nebulae (PPNs) using the Spitzer Space Telescope. They were observed from 10-36 microns at relatively high spectral resolution, R~600. The sample was chosen…
Many aspects of the evolutionary phase in which Asymptotic Giant Branch stars (AGB stars) are in transition to become Planetary Nebulae (PNe) are still poorly understood. An important question is how the circumstellar envelopes of AGB stars…
A millimeter molecular line survey of three carbon-rich AGB stars and two oxygen-rich planetary nebulae has been carried out over the frequency range 80.5-115.5 GHz. Sixty eight different transitions were detected in the data from 27…
High spatial resolution images of PNe have shown their extremely complex morphology. However, the circumstellar envelopes of their progenitors, the AGB stars, are strikingly spherical. In order to understand the carving processes leading to…
We present continuum and molecular line emission ALMA observations of OH 231.8+4.2, a well studied bipolar nebula around an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star. The high angular resolution (~0.2-0.3 arcsec) and sensitivity of our ALMA maps…
Recent infrared spectroscopic observations have shown that proto-planetary nebulae (PPNs) are sites of active synthesis of organic compounds in the late stages of stellar evolution. This paper presents a study of Spitzer/IRS spectra for a…
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,…
In this paper, we present a study of the proto-planetary nebula (PPN) IRAS 06530$-$0213 based on low- and high-resolution spectra. The low-resolution spectrum shows that star is an F5 supergiant with molecular C$_{2}$ and C$_{3}$ and…
We present our recent results on mm-wave CO observations of proto-planetary nebulae. These include high-resolution interferometric maps of various CO lines in three well known bipolar PPNe: M1-92, M2-56 and OH231.8+4.2. The global…