ISSN:
1432-0754
Keywords:
Stars: carbon
;
stars: circumstellar matter
;
stars: evolution of
;
stars: mass loss
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Physics
Notes:
Summary In the solar neighborhood, approximately half of all intermediate mass main sequence stars with initially between 1 and about 5 M⊙become carbon stars with luminosities near 104 L⊙ for typically less than 106 years. These high luminosity carbon stars lose mass at rates nearly always in excess of 10−7 M⊙ yr−1 and sometimes in excess of 10−5 M⊙ yr−1. Locally, close to half of the mass returned into the interstellar medium by intermediate mass stars before they become white dwarfs is during the carbon star phase. A much greater fraction of lower metallicity stars become carbon-rich before they evolve into planetary nebulae than do higher metallicity stars; therefore, carbon stars are much more importan t in the outer than in the inner Galaxy.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00872768
