The Role of Dust in Defining the Structure of Red Giant Winds

在它们活跃的生命结束时，大多数恒星会变得很大，非常凉爽，但却是鲜艳的红色巨星。当它们完成这一阶段时，许多开始通过被称为风的外流而失去它们的外层。人们认为，驱动这些风的一个重要因素是形成了小的固体颗粒，通常被称为尘埃。将调查这种尘埃在驱动外流中所起的作用以及这种外流的动力学。还将对有关恒星的双星伴星的存在对风的影响进行调查。将进行亚毫米级的观测，以验证该理论的一些预测。由于来自红巨星的强风完全改变了恒星的演化，并为星际介质提供了丰富的物质，这项工作对天文学的几个领域产生了广泛的影响。

At the end of their active lives, most stars become large, very cool but bright red giants. As they finish this stage, many begin to lose their outer layers through outflows known as winds. It is thought that an important factor driving these winds is the formation of small solid particles commonly referred to as dust. The role played by this dust in driving the outflow and the dynamics of such outflows will be investigated. An investigation will also be conducted of the effects on the wind of the presence of a binary companion to the star in question. Submillimeter observations will be undertaken to verify some of the predictions of the theory. Since the strong winds from red giants completely alter the evolution of the stars and provide enriched material to the interstellar medium, this work has broad ramifications to several areas of astronomy.