Related papers: A surprisingly large asymmetric ejection from Mira…
Recent observations of the Mira AB binary system have revealed a surrounding arc-like structure and a stream of material stretching 2 degrees away in opposition to the arc. The alignment of the proper motion vector and the arc-like…
Dust formation and resulting mass loss around Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars with initial metallicity in the range of $0 \leq Z_{\rm ini} \leq 10^{-4}$ and initial mass $2\leq M_{\rm ini}/M_{\odot} \leq 5$ are explored by the…
We present empirical relations describing excess emission from evolved stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) using data from the SAGE (Surveying the Agents of a Galaxy's Evolution) survey which includes the IRAC 3.6, 4.5, 5.8 and 8.0…
The asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase is the penultimate stage of evolution for low- and intermediate-mass stars. AGB star outflows inject a significant amount of material into the interstellar medium (ISM), seeding new star formation.…
We present dust yields for asymptotic giant branch (AGB) and super--asymptotic giant branch (SAGB) stars of solar metallicity. Stars with initial mass $1.5~M_{\odot} \leq M_{\rm ini} \leq 3~M_{\odot}$ reach the carbon star stage during the…
We analyse ALMA observations of the SO($J_K=6_5-5_4$) emission of the circumstellar envelope of oxygen-rich AGB star R Dor, probing distances between 20 and 100 au from the star where the nascent wind is building up. We give evidence for…
Stellar winds observed in asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars are usually attributed to a combination of stellar pulsations and radiation pressure on dust. Shock waves triggered by pulsations propagate through the atmosphere, compressing…
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…
The asymptotic giant branch (AGB) of the globular cluster NGC 4372 appears to extend to unexpectedly high luminosities. We show, on the basis of proper motions and spatial distribution, that the extended AGB is indeed a likely part of the…
We model multi-wavelength broadband UBVIJHKs and Spitzer IRAC and MIPS photometry and IRS spectra from the SAGE and SAGE-Spec observing programs of two oxygen-rich asymptotic giant branch (O-rich AGB) stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud…
The goal of this study is to reconstruct the evolution and the dust formation processes during the final AGB phases of a sample of carbon-rich, post-AGB Galactic stars, with particular attention to the determination of the past mass-loss…
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…
We present the results of our survey of 1612 MHz circumstellar OH maser emission from asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars and red supergiants (RSGs) in the Large Magellanic Cloud. We have discovered four new circumstellar maser sources in…
The dust formation process in the winds of Asymptotic Giant Branch stars is discussed, based on full evolutionary models of stars with mass in the range $1$M$_{\odot} \leq$M$\leq 8$M$_{\odot}$, and metallicities $0.001 < Z <0.008$. Dust…
Stars of intermediate mass (~4-8Msun) evolve to the stage of white dwarfs through the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stage: stationary hydrogen shell burning and helium thermal pulses, wind mass loss and planetary nebula ejection. Almost the…
AGB phases mark the end of the evolution for Low- and Intermediate-Mass Stars. Our understanding of the mechanisms through which they eject the envelope and our assessment of their contribution to the chemical evolution of Galaxies are…
C and O isotopic ratios are reported for a sample of 46 Mira and SRa-type variable AGB stars. Vibration-rotation 1st and 2nd overtone CO lines in 1.5 to 2.5 $\mu$m spectra were measured to derive isotopic ratios for 12C/13C, 16O/17O, and…
Late asymptotic giant branch (AGB) and early post-AGB stars which are progenitors of planetary nebulae lose mass at extremely high rate, in what is termed a superwind. We show that the existence of this superwind during the post-AGB phase…
Context. Extremely reddened AGB stars lose mass at high rates of >10^-5 Msun/yr. This is the very last stage of AGB evolution, in which stars in the mass range 2.0--4.0 Msun (for solar metallicity) should have been converted to C stars…
High spatial resolution techniques have given valuable insights into the mass loss mechanism of AGB stars, which presumably involves a combination of atmospheric levitation by pulsation-induced shock waves and radiation pressure on dust.…