Are OH/IR stars the youngest post-AGB stars? An ACS SNAPshot imaging survey

Details Are OH/IR stars the youngest post-AGB stars? An ACS SNAPshot imaging survey Are OH/IR stars the youngest post-AGB stars? An ACS SNAPshot imaging survey

Jul 2002

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002hst..prop.9463s&link_type=abstract

HST Proposal ID #9463

Mathematics

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Hst Proposal Id #9463

Scientific paper

Essentially all well-characterized preplanetary nebulae {PPNs}- objects in transition between the AGB and planetary nebula evolutionary phases - are bipolar, whereas the mass-loss envelopes of AGB stars are strikingly spherical. In order to understand the processes leading to bipolar mass-ejection, we need to know at what stage of stellar evolution does bipolarity in the mass-loss first manifest itself? We have recently hypothesized that most OH/IR stars {evolved mass- losing stars with OH maser emission} are very young PPNe. We propose an ACS/SNAPshot imaging survey of a large, morphologically unbiased sample of these objects, selected using their IRAS 12-to-25micron colors. Our ground-based imaging study of OH/IR stars has revealed a few compact bipolar objects, supporting our hypothesis. However since most objects remain unresolved, HST observations are needed to determine how and when the bipolar geometry asserts itself. Our complementary program of interferometric mapping of the OH maser emission in our sources is yielding kinematic information with spatial resolution comparable to that in the HST images. The HST/radio data will provide crucial input for theories of post-AGB stellar evolution. In addition, these data will also indicate whether the multiple concentric rings, ``searchlight beams'', and truncated equatorial disks recently discovered with HST in a few PPNs, are common or rare phenomena.

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