Mass Loss From Cool Stars: Stellar and Galactic Evolution

当前天文学研究的一个重要领域是 红巨星向白色演化过程中质量损失研究 行星状星云阶段。 现在认为 这种损失以原子粒子风的形式发生。 的 这种风的强度在几个月的时间里会增加， 直到星星的外壳被剥离， 风速非常快。 主要研究者（PI） 建议继续使用以前的研究这种现象， a确定在大范围内这股风中损失的质量 红巨星的样本从两个一氧化碳的强度 星云物质中的发射线。 的 质量损失的数量将与已知的恒星 恒星质量、光度、半径和化学成分等参数 组成，以允许开发经验模型， 在这个关键的短暂进化阶段，质量是如何损失的

An important area of current astronomical research concerns the study of mass loss of red giant stars as they evolve to white dwarfs through the "planetary nebula" stage. It is now believed that this loss occurs as a wind of atomic particles. The intensity of this wind increases over the course of several thousand years until the envelope of the star is peeled off in a very fast wind at a rapid rate. The Principal Investigator (PI) proposes to continue previous studies of this phenomenon by using a determining the amount of mass lost in this wind in a large sample of red giants from the strength of two carbon monoxide emission lines in the nebular material surrounding them. The amounts of mass loss will be correlated against known stellar parameters such as stellar mass, luminosity, radius, and chemical composition to permit an empirical model to be developed as to how mass is lost during this critical brief stage of evolution.