Variability, Pulsations and Mass Loss of Evolved Stars

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (S339) ◽  
pp. 95-97
Author(s):  
S. Höfner

AbstractEvolved low- and intermediate-mass stars that have reached the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) phase tend to show pronounced long-period variability due to large-amplitude pulsations. Those pulsations are considered to play a key role in triggering mass loss through massive dusty winds. The winds enrich the surrounding interstellar medium with newly-produced chemical elements and dust grains, providing building blocks for new generations of stars and planets. Considerable efforts are being made to understand the physics of AGB stars, and to develop quantitative models. This talk gave a brief summary of recent developments, with references to the literature.

1988 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 31-37
Author(s):  
P.R. Wood

The Magellanic Clouds are sufficiently close that evolved stars which exhibit chemical peculiarities and the effects of mass loss can be readily observed. Such objects include carbon stars, S stars, long-period variables, OH/IR stars and planetary nebulae. Because of the relatively well-known distances of the Magellanic Clouds, the intrinsic luminosities of these objects can be accurately determined, in contrast to the situation in the Galaxy where the great majority of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars occur in the field population. In this review, observations of AGB stars in the Magellanic Clouds will be discussed with particular reference to those features which can shed light on mass loss and chemical peculiarities resulting from stellar evolution.


2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (S281) ◽  
pp. 36-43
Author(s):  
Paola Marigo

AbstractCombining recent mass determinations of Galactic CO white dwarfs and their progenitors with the latest evolutionary models for Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars, I review the initial-final mass relation (IFMR) of low- and intermediate-mass stars. In particular, I analyze the impact on the IFMR produced by a few critical processes characterizing the AGB phase, namely: the second and third dredge-up events, hot-bottom burning, and mass loss. Their dependence on metallicity and related theoretical uncertainties are briefly discussed.


2003 ◽  
Vol 209 ◽  
pp. 82-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. I. Karakas ◽  
J. C. Lattanzio ◽  
O. R. Pols

We present new evolutionary sequences for low and intermediate mass stars (1M⊙ to 6M⊙) for three different metallicities, z = 0.02, 0.008 and 0.004. We evolve the models from the pre-main sequence to the thermally-pulsing asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase. We have two sequences of models for each mass, one which includes mass-loss and one without mass-loss. For an overview of AGB evolution and nucleosynthesis, see Herwig (2002) and Lattanzio (2002).


Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 369 (6510) ◽  
pp. 1497-1500 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Decin ◽  
M. Montargès ◽  
A. M. S. Richards ◽  
C. A. Gottlieb ◽  
W. Homan ◽  
...  

Binary interactions dominate the evolution of massive stars, but their role is less clear for low- and intermediate-mass stars. The evolution of a spherical wind from an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star into a nonspherical planetary nebula (PN) could be due to binary interactions. We observed a sample of AGB stars with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and found that their winds exhibit distinct nonspherical geometries with morphological similarities to planetary nebulae (PNe). We infer that the same physics shapes both AGB winds and PNe; additionally, the morphology and AGB mass-loss rate are correlated. These characteristics can be explained by binary interaction. We propose an evolutionary scenario for AGB morphologies that is consistent with observed phenomena in AGB stars and PNe.


2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 161-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Palmerini ◽  
M. Busso ◽  
E. Maiorca ◽  
R. Guandalini

AbstractWe present computations of nucleosynthesis in red giants and Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars of Population I experiencing extended mixing. The assumed physical cause for mass transport is the buoyancy of magnetized structures, according to recent suggestions. The peculiar property of such a mechanism is to allow for both fast and slow mixing phenomena, as required for reproducing the spread in Li abundances displayed by red giants and as discussed in an accompanying paper. We explore here the effects of this kind of mass transport on CNO and intermediate-mass nuclei and compare the results with the available evidence from evolved red giants and from the isotopic composition of presolar grains of AGB origin. It is found that a good general accord exists between predictions and measurements; in this framework we also show which type of observational data best constrains the various parameters. We conclude that magnetic buoyancy, allowing for mixing at rather different speeds, can be an interesting scenario to explore for explaining together the abundances of CNO nuclei and of Li.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (S343) ◽  
pp. 36-46
Author(s):  
Marcelo M. Miller Bertolami

AbstractThe transition from the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) to the final white dwarf (WD) stage is arguably the least understood phase in the evolution of single low- and intermediate-mass stars (0.8 ≲ MZAMS/M⊙ ≲ 8…10). Here we briefly review the progress in the last 50 years of the modeling of stars during the post-AGB phase. We show that although the main features, like the extreme mass dependency of post-AGB timescales were already present in the earliest post-AGB models, the quantitative values of the computed post-AGB timescales changed every time new physics was included in the modeling of post-AGB stars and their progenitors. Then we discuss the predictions and uncertainties of the latest available models regarding the evolutionary timescales of post-AGB stars.


1997 ◽  
Vol 189 ◽  
pp. 323-330
Author(s):  
Cesare Chiosi

We summarize the evolution of intermediate-mass stars, calling attention to the uncertainties related to mixing in convectively unstable regions, and to recent developments in the theory of AGB stars with envelope burning. Finally, we briefly report on the distribution of C-stars of the Large Magellanic Cloud in the Mbol-log(age) plane.


2016 ◽  
Vol 822 (2) ◽  
pp. 73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Rosenfield ◽  
Paola Marigo ◽  
Léo Girardi ◽  
Julianne J. Dalcanton ◽  
Alessandro Bressan ◽  
...  

1996 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-186
Author(s):  
Jessica M. Chapman

Radio emission at centimetre and millimetre wavelengths provides a powerful tool for studying the circumstellar envelopes of evolved stars. These include stars on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB), post-AGB stars and a small number of massive M-type supergiant stars. The AGB stars and M-type supergiants are characterised by extremely high mass-loss rates. The mass loss in such an evolved star is driven by radiation pressure acting on grains which form in the outer stellar atmosphere. The grains are accelerated outwards and transfer momentum to the gas through grain–gas collisions. The outflowing dust and gas thus form an expanding circumstellar envelope through which matter flows from the star to the interstellar medium, at a typical velocity of 15 km s−1. For a recent review of circumstellar mass loss see Chapman, Habing & Killeen (1995).


2020 ◽  
Vol 637 ◽  
pp. A91 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. El Mellah ◽  
J. Bolte ◽  
L. Decin ◽  
W. Homan ◽  
R. Keppens

Context. The late evolutionary phase of low- and intermediate-mass stars is strongly constrained by their mass-loss rate, which is orders of magnitude higher than during the main sequence. The wind surrounding these cool expanded stars frequently shows nonspherical symmetry, which is thought to be due to an unseen companion orbiting the donor star. The imprints left in the outflow carry information about the companion and also the launching mechanism of these dust-driven winds. Aims. We study the morphology of the circumbinary envelope and identify the conditions of formation of a wind-captured disk around the companion. Long-term orbital changes induced by mass loss and mass transfer to the secondary are also investigated. We pay particular attention to oxygen-rich, that is slowly accelerating, outflows in order to look for systematic differences between the dynamics of the wind around carbon and oxygen-rich asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. Methods. We present a model based on a parametrized wind acceleration and a reduced number of dimensionless parameters to connect the wind morphology to the properties of the underlying binary system. Thanks to the high performance code MPI-AMRVAC, we ran an extensive set of 72 three-dimensional hydrodynamics simulations of a progressively accelerating wind propagating in the Roche potential of a mass-losing evolved star in orbit with a main sequence companion. The highly adaptive mesh refinement that we used, enabled us to resolve the flow structure both in the immediate vicinity of the secondary, where bow shocks, outflows, and wind-captured disks form, and up to 40 orbital separations, where spiral arms, arcs, and equatorial density enhancements develop. Results. When the companion is deeply engulfed in the wind, the lower terminal wind speeds and more progressive wind acceleration around oxygen-rich AGB stars make them more prone than carbon-rich AGB stars to display more disturbed outflows, a disk-like structure around the companion, and a wind concentrated in the orbital plane. In these configurations, a large fraction of the wind is captured by the companion, which leads to a significant shrinking of the orbit over the mass-loss timescale, if the donor star is at least a few times more massive than its companion. In the other cases, an increase of the orbital separation is to be expected, though at a rate lower than the mass-loss rate of the donor star. Provided the companion has a mass of at least a tenth of the mass of the donor star, it can compress the wind in the orbital plane up to large distances. Conclusions. The grid of models that we computed covers a wide scope of configurations: We vary the terminal wind speed relative to the orbital speed, the extension of the dust condensation region around the cool evolved star relative to the orbital separation, and the mass ratio, and we consider a carbon-rich and an oxygen-rich donor star. It provides a convenient frame of reference to interpret high-resolution maps of the outflows surrounding cool evolved stars.


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