Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-995ml Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T20:12:06.608Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A mid-infrared imaging survey of post-AGB stars

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 August 2012

Eric Lagadec
Affiliation:
European Southern Observatory, Garching, Germany email: elagadec@eso.org
Tijl Verhoelst
Affiliation:
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Djamel Mékarnia
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Fizeau, Nice, France
Olga Suárez
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Fizeau, Nice, France Instituto de Astrofsica de Andaluca, Granada, Spain
Albert A. Zijlstra
Affiliation:
Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, UK
Philippe Bendjoya
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Fizeau, Nice, France
Ryszard Szczerba
Affiliation:
N. Copernicus Astronomical Center, Torun, Poland
Olivier Chesneau
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Fizeau, Nice, France
Hans Van Winckel
Affiliation:
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Michael J. Barlow
Affiliation:
University College London, Gower Street, London
Mikako Matsuura
Affiliation:
University College London, Gower Street, London Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, UK
Janet E. Bowey
Affiliation:
University College London, Gower Street, London
Silvia Lorenz-Martins
Affiliation:
Observatorio do Valongo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Tim Gledhill
Affiliation:
Science and Technology Research Institute, University of Hertfordshire
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Post-AGB stars are key objects for the study of the dramatic morphological changes of low- to intermediate-mass stars on their evolution from the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) towards the planetary nebula stage. There is growing evidences that binary interaction processes may very well have a determining role in the shaping process of many objects, but so far direct evidence is still weak. We aim at a systematic study of the dust distribution around a large sample of post-AGB stars as a probe of the symmetry breaking in the nebulae around these systems. We used imaging in the mid-infrared to study the inner part of these evolved stars to probe direct emission from dusty structures in the core of post-AGB stars in order to better understand their shaping mechanisms. We imaged a sample of 93 evolved stars and nebulae in the mid-infrared using VISIR/VLT, T-Recs/Gemini South and Michelle/Gemini North. We found that all the the proto-planetary nebulae we resolved show a clear departure from spherical symmetry. 59 out of the 93 observed targets appear to be non resolved. The resolved targets can be divided in two categories. The nebulae with a dense central core, that are either bipolar and multipolar. The nebulae with no central core have an elliptical morphology. The dense central torus observed likely host binary systems which triggered fast outflows that shaped the nebulae.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2012

References

Balick, B. & Frank, A. 2002, ARA&A, 40, 439 Google Scholar
Bujarrabal, V., et al. 2001, A&A, 377, 868 Google Scholar
Corradi, R. L. M. & Schwarz, H. E. 1995, A&A, 293, 871 Google Scholar
de Marco, O. 2009, PASP, 121, 316 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guzman-Ramirez, L., Zijlstra, A. A., Níchuimín, R., et al. 2011, MNRAS, 414, 1667 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Izzard, R. G., et al. 2006, A&A, 460, 565 Google Scholar
Lagadec, E., Verhoelst, T., Mékarnia, D., et al. 2011, MNRAS, 417, 32 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mauron, N. & Huggins, P. J. 2006, A&A, 452, 257 Google Scholar
Meixner, M., et al. 1999, ApJS, 122, 221 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parker, Q. A., et al. 2006, MNRAS, 373, 79 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stanghellini, L., et al. 2007, ApJ, 671, 1669 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soker, N. 1998, ApJ, 496, 833 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Szczerba, R., et al. 2007, A&A, 469, 799 Google Scholar
Volk, K., Kwok, S., & Hrivnak, B. J. 2007, ApJ, 670, 1137 CrossRefGoogle Scholar