Bibcode
Marini, E.; Dell’Agli, F.; Di Criscienzo, Marcella; Puccetti, Simonetta; García-Hernández, D. A.; Mattsson, Lars; Ventura, Paolo
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Volume 871, Issue 1, article id. L16, 5 pp. (2019).
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1
2019
Citations
10
Refereed citations
9
Description
We consider a small sample of oxygen-rich, asymptotic giant branch stars
in the Large Magellanic Cloud, observed by the Spitzer Space Telescope,
exhibiting a peculiar spectral energy distribution, which can hardly be
explained by the common assumption that dust around Asymptotic Giant
Branch stars is primarily composed of silicate grains. We suggest that
this uncommon class of objects is the progeny of a metal-poor generation
of stars, with metallicity Z ∼ 1–2 ×
10‑3, formed ∼100 Myr ago. The main dust component
in the circumstellar envelope is solid iron. In these stars the poor
formation of silicates is set by the strong nucleosynthesis experienced
at the base of the envelope, which provokes a scarcity of magnesium
atoms and water molecules, required for the silicate formation. The
importance of the present results to interpret the data from the
incoming James Webb Space Telescope is also discussed.
Related projects
Nucleosynthesis and molecular processes in the late stages of Stellar Evolution
Low- to intermediate-mass (M < 8 solar masses, Ms) stars represent the majority of stars in the Cosmos. They finish their lives on the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) - just before they form planetary nebulae (PNe) - where they experience complex nucleosynthetic and molecular processes. AGB stars are important contributors to the enrichment of the
Domingo Aníbal
García Hernández