Mass Loss from Red Giants

Red giant and supergiant stars have long been favorites of professional 6 and amateur astronomers. These enormous stars emit up to 10 times more energy than the Sun and, so, are easy to study. Some of them, specifically the pulsating long-period variables, significantly change their size, brightness, and color within about a year, a time scale of interest to a single human being. Some aspects of the study of red giant stars are similar to the study of pre-main-sequence stars. For example, optical astronomy gives us a tantalizing glimpse of star forming regions but to really investi­ gate young stars and protostars requires infrared and radio astronomy. The same is true of post-main-sequence stars that are losing mass. Optical astronomers can measure the atomic component of winds from red giant stars that are undergoing mass loss at modest rates 6 (M $ 10- M9/yr.). But to see dust grains and molecules properly, 5 especially in stars with truly large mass loss rates, ~ 10- M9/yr, one requires IR and radio astronomy. As this stage of copious mass loss only lasts for ~105 years one might be tempted to ask, "who cares?".

Inhalt

On the Significance of Mass Loss from Bright Red Giants (Review).- Masses of White Dwarfs and Other Remnants: The Ultimate Constraint on M? (Review).- Optical Spectroscopy of Red Giants (Review).- Mass Loss in Metal Deficient Red Giants.- Mass Loss from Red Giants: Results from Ultraviolet Spectroscopy (Review).- Densities, Temperatures and Geometric Extents of C II Emitting Regions in the Winds of Luminous, Late-Type Stars.- Results from Optical Interferometry (Review).- High Angular Resolution Interferometric Observations of Betelgeuse in the Visible.- Mass Loss from Red Giants: Infrared Spectroscopy (Review).- CO Vibration Rotation Lines from Circumstellar Shells.- Circumstellar Dynamics Observed by Infrared Heterodyne Spectroscopy.- The Near Circumstellar Environment of Miras.- The Infrared Characteristics of Circumstellar Silicate Grains.- Infrared Spatial Interferometry (Review).- 10 Micron Speckle Interferometry of OH/IR Stars.- Far-Infrared and Submillimeter Photometry of Evolved Stars (Review).- Thermal Radio Emission from Molecules in Circumstellar Outflows (Review).- Time Variations of SiO (v=0, J=2-1) Emission from Circumstellar Shells.- SiS in Circumstellar Shells.- Infrared Pumping and Polarization of Molecular Lines in IRC+10216.- The Distribution of HCN in the Circumstellar Envelope of IRC+10216.- Upper Limit for the Production of 14C in the Carbon Star IRC+10216 from Observations of the 14CO (J=1-0) Line.- The 13C/12C Isotope Ratio in Circumstellar Envelopes.- CO(2-1) Emission from the Circumstellar Envelope of Alpha ORI.- CO (1-0) Maps of NGC7027.- The NGC 7027 Molecular Cloud.- CO Emission from Planetary Nebulae.- The Gas to Dust Ratio in Circumstellar Envelopes.- 21-CM Line and Radio Continuum Emission from Circumstellar Envelopes Around Late-Type Giants (Review).- 20 GHZ Continuum and SiS Maser Emission from IRC+10216.- Radio Continuum Observations of G-M Giants and Supergiants and Inferred Ionized Mass Loss Rates.- Maser Emission as a Tool to Study Mass Loss from Evolved Stars (Review).- A Search for OH and H2O Maser Emission from Unidentified Iras Sources.- Radio and Infrared Observations of OH/IR Stars.- Mass Loss from OH/IR Stars.- What Circumstellar SiO and OH Masers Tell Us about Mass Loss from Red Giants.- Time Monitoring of SiO (v=1, J=2-1) Maser Emission from Late Type Stars.- New 43 GHz SIO Observations with the MPIFR 100m Telescope.- Mass Loss Mechanisms for Cool, Low-Gravity Stars (Review).- Pulsation, Mass Loss and Grain Formation in Cool Giants.- Effects of Rotation and Convection on Mass-Loss from Red Giants.- Hydrogen Deficiency and Mass Loss from AGB Stars.- The Physical and Chemical Structure of Circumstellar Envelopes (Review).- Bipolar Nebulae and Mass Loss from Red Giant Stars (Review).- Infrared Studies of the Bipolar Nebula OH0739.- Observations of the Far-Infrared Emission Lines of OI and CII in Planetary Nebulae.- Ammonia and Cyanotriacetylene in the Egg Nebula.- Concluding Remarks.- Object Index.