The circumstellar envelope of IRC +10216

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics

Scientific paper

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Carbon Stars, Infrared Stars, Late Stars, Molecular Spectra, Stellar Envelopes, Stellar Mass Ejection, Abundance, Carbon Monoxide, Gas Temperature, Hydrocyanic Acid, Molecular Excitation, Momentum Transfer, Stellar Models, Temperature Distribution

Scientific paper

The circumstellar envelope of IRC +10216 is modeled by assuming steady spherically symmetric mass loss from the star. The mass outflow is presumed to be due to radiation pressure on grains formed in the stellar atmosphere and momentum-coupled to the gas, and the temperature of the expanding gas is determined by taking account of cooling due to free expansion and molecular emission as well as heating resulting from gas-dust collisions. The excitation of molecular emission from CO, (C-13)O, HCN, and H(C-13)N is computed and compared with observations in order to obtain information about the mass-loss rate and the molecular abundances. For a distance of 200 pc, a mass-loss rate of 0.00002 solar mass per yr is derived along with a CO/H2 abundance ratio of 0.0008, a CO/(C-13)O isotope ratio of 35, and a momentum-transfer efficiency factor (averaged over the continuum energy distribution) of 0.013. Uncertainties in these results and their dependence on the assumed distance are discussed.

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