IRC +10 216 in 3-D: morphology of a TP-AGB star envelope.

ABSTRACT: During their late pulsating phase, AGB stars expel most of their mass in the form of massive dusty envelopes, an event that largely controls the composition of interstellar matter. The envelopes, however, are distant and opaque to visible and NIR radiation: their structure remains poorly known and the mass-loss process poorly understood. Millimeter-wave interferometry, which combines the advantages of longer wavelength, high angular resolution and very high spectral resolution is the optimal investigative tool for this purpose. Mm waves pass through dust with almost no attenuation. Their spectrum is rich in molecular lines and hosts the fundamental lines of the ubiquitous CO molecule, allowing a tomographic reconstruction of the envelope structure. The circumstellar envelope IRC +10 216 an

SUBMITTER: Guelin M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5815495 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature